Sleep & Weight Loss: How to shed pounds in bed

Sleep and weight loss are bed buddies for sure.  If losing weight is your goal, the amount and quality of your sleep will play a critical role in your success!

Sleep is Your Secret Weapon for Weight Loss & Wellness

I recognize that for some, sleep is often deprioritized because life happens and Netflix is a crazy rabbit hole we can all go down, but here's what happens to your body when you have a bad night sleep:

• Your cognitive functions decline.  So much so that it's equitable to being impaired.
• Your likelihood of getting in a car accident goes up.
• Your hunger hormones become unbalanced to the point where you always feel hungry, crave carbs and eat more.
• Your mood is low and it can feel like depression.
• Your muscle recovery from workouts is impaired so you feel sore if you worked out the day before.
• Your problem-solving skills are impaired, so issues that typically feel like nuisances can feel completely overwhelming.

Does this sound familiar at all?

The Cleveland Clinic suggests that adults aged 26 to 64 need 7 to 9 hours a night.  Anything less can cause the impairments I just mentioned or worse, over time it can cause brain damage.

If you're trying to lose weight, sleep is a critical behavior that you must take seriously.

Studies show that if you don’t sleep enough, ghrelin (the hormone that tells you to eat) goes up and leptin (the hormone that tells you when you’re full) goes down.   You can see how this can turn one’s diet into a total train wreck fast.

If you’re not sleeping enough or getting enough quality sleep, you’re setting yourself up for problems with your diet, your ability to cope with stress and your general happiness levels.  So unless you’re a big fan of being cranky pants all day (which I’m so not), then you have to make sleep priority numero uno.  No excuses!!

Trouble falling asleep?

You're not alone here.  An estimated 68% of Americans struggle to fall asleep at least once a week.  The causes for insomnia range from stressful thoughts to over-exposure to blue light (the glare from your phone or iPad).  Chances are, if you look at your lifestyle objectively, you can probably pinpoint the reason for your sleeplessness and you may even know what to do to prevent it.  If you don't, here's a few suggestions that might help.  If they don't work, see your dr!  Your sleep is critical to your health and your weight loss efforts.

Workout - regular exersize contributes to more sound sleep habits.  It also helps to manage stress (which could also be keeping you up

Trouble Staying Asleep?

If you find you wake up around 3 am every night and struggle to get back to bed, it could be due to low blood sugar.  A very small snack of mostly protein and fats before bed might fix that. Try:

• A tablespoon of almond butter
• A glass of warmed milk with a drop of stevia and vanilla extract
• An ounce of hard cheese

[click_to_tweet tweet="SLEEP: My secret weapon for staying lean and feeling happy and productive. It's natural, it's accessible and it's free. Go do it!" quote="SLEEP: My secret weapon for staying lean and feeling happy and productive. It's natural, it's accessible and it's free. Go do it!" theme="style3"]

One of my primary goals in life is to get 8 hours of sleep a night.

I know that might sound strange to hear, but it's a foundational habit that not only serves my general happiness and ability to do great work, but it also keeps me lean and happy.

Want to dive into more research and evidence around sleep habits and how poor ones can derail your life?  Start here and also check out the book Sleep Smarter.  It has tons of great, actionable info to help you start sleeping more.