Being sleep deprived has become a status symbol for being busy and important. But it can seriously affect your health, quality of life and ability to manage your weight. Research has shown that people who consistently get more than six hours of sleep per night tend to carry less body fat than people who get less than six hours of sleep per night. Restricting sleep for even five days can lead to short term weight gain.
Two key hormones affected by sleep deprivation are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the 'start eating' hormone, which tells you it’s time to eat. When you are sleep deprived you have more ghrelin, and this can increase appetite by up to 25%. Leptin is the 'stop eating' hormone, which causes you to feel full. When you are sleep deprived you have less of it. More ghrelin plus less leptin tends to equal more eating.
Another hormone stimulated by sleep deprivation is cortisol. Cortisol is a stress-response hormone – in an unfortunate spiral psychological stress can interrupt your sleep at night, and then sleep deprivation creates physiological stress through the day as you struggle to function. Cortisol destroys lean muscle mass (which decreases metabolic rate), destabilises blood sugar levels and predisposes us to carry weight around the middle. Abdominal fat is not only aesthetically undesirable, it also poses greater health risks than fat stored in other parts of the body.
Sleep deprived people tend to eat for fast energy rather than nutritious fuel. Overeating tends to snowball as the day goes on; the later it gets the harder it is to control. Stimulants such as caffeine and sugar further disrupt your sleep, leaving you tired and wired. The longer the day the more opportunities there are to eat.
Sleep deprivation and overeating operate in partnership. So too do exercise and sound sleep. And the good news is that best type of exercise to stimulate good sleep is moderate intensity. You don’t need to find a lot of energy, just a little. The best choice is whatever type of exercise you most enjoy.
It can be hard to get organised to exercise when you’re overtired and overworked; sometimes just getting out of bed feels physical exertion enough. But skipping exercise is inefficient. As well as improving your sleep, a workout can help process stress hormones, regulate blood sugar and maintain muscle mass. It gets blood to the brain to restore your cognitive capacity. It also gives you a little break from your snacking. As the fog lifts, so too does your ability to make healthy choices.
Our bodies are designed to move through the day and rest through the night. Sleep brings physical, mental and emotional rejuvenation and repair. You need it to arrest the downwards spiral of lethargy and get life back under control. Make it a priority to move your body daily and organise seven-plus hours of sleep every night.
