Sleep Is Important for Weight Loss
Do you want to lose weight?
Keep the weight off?
Have a faster metabolism?
Get your blood sugar levels under control?
The solution might lie in how much sleep you’re getting.
How much sleep is important for weight loss?
A recent study has shown that losing just 30 minutes of sleep a night during the week can have a long-term negative impact on your weight and metabolism. Losing sleep is referred to as ‘sleep debt’. This adds up over time and spells bad news for your body. Even trying to make up for it over the weekend won’t prevent the effects on your metabolism. This study found that when “compared with participants who had no weekday sleep debt, those who had weekday sleep debt were 72% more likely to be obese“. This just goes to show the extent to which sleep is important for your health.
Sleep is important so learn to avoid sleep debt
Sleep debt is a common problem in modern society. Think about how often people complain about feeling stressed and tired. It almost seems like it’s a given condition in today’s busy world. But we know that sleep is important. So here are some tips about how you can avoid sleep debt:
- Go on holiday
Plan a vacation that doesn’t involve a busy schedule. Allow yourself to sleep every night until you awake naturally. Turn off your alarm, phone, or any other gadgets that could possibly wake you. Once you feel rested you should be able to determine how many hours’ sleep you need every night. Remember that this differs for different people.
- Have a schedule
Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, especially on weekdays. Make sure that this routine allows you to get the hours’ sleep you need every night.
- Make sleep a priority
Because sleep is important for your health, it should be a priority in your life. When making decisions about the hours you spend at work, fulfilling social obligations, etc, think about your sleep debt. If you’re making the effort to exercise regularly and eat healthily, you need to recognise that sleep is important too.
- Create the right environment
It’s important that you create the right environment to help you get uninterrupted restful sleep. Ideally you should be lying in a comfortable bed in a dark room without any distractions. Turn off your phone and any other devices that could disrupt your sleep.
Always keep in mind that sufficient sleep is important for weight loss!