Having a well-established sleep routine is very important for both your physical and mental health. Positive sleeping patterns help you fall asleep quicker and maintain a better REM cycle, which is the time when your brain activity is at its peak. REM sleep is important for cognitive functions, memory, and emotional processing. It’s the time of your sleep cycle when you have the most dreams! Poor sleep can be caused by many different things. Some of the main ones include too much caffeine, stress, and even eating and drinking too late can cause a bad night’s sleep.
So what does this have to do with weight gain? Sleeping fewer hours increases hunger and cravings, particularly for unhealthy food with high levels of sugar and fat. Scientists believe this may be because a lack of sleep messes with the hormones in your body that regulate hunger. The two neurotransmitters ghrelin and trepin are responsible for your feelings of hunger and fullness. When you don’t get enough sleep your body isn’t regulating these neurotransmitters. Lots of big words right? Basically, not getting enough sleep means that your brain may feel confused as to whether it’s hungry or full, and this may cause overeating.
If you’re not getting enough sleep and staying awake for longer periods of time that means there’s more time for you to be eating. Overeating can cause weight gain and dysregulation of your metabolism. Your body will get used to that amount of eating so anything less than that won’t make you full. This is where having a good sleeping (and eating) routine comes into play.
Poor sleep also means you’ll have less energy throughout the day to make nutritious meals for yourself. Chances are after work you’ll be feeling so burnt out from the long day that you’ll probably reach for something quick and easy or opt for takeaway. This is one of the reasons why poor sleep can often cause weight gain.
Try out some simple tips for a better sleeping schedule. These include putting your phone away after 6 pm, not drinking too much caffeine throughout the day, and incorporating exercise into your everyday routine. Sleep is very important to our overall health and wellbeing, so make sure you’re looking after your body and mind by getting enough of it. Check out more tips for improving sleep here.