International studies conducted in the UK, Canada, South Korea, the United States and several other countries have shown that good, full sleep has a beneficial effect on body mass index, which reduces the risk of obesity. There is a close relationship between the number of hours of sleep and the consumption of foods high in carbohydrates and fat in the evening. How to improve sleep patterns to control excess weight?
Weekend sleep is a great solution.
In today’s world, people began to sleep less and worse, which is associated with a lot of work, stress and overexertion. Most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep at night. Those who sleep less are at higher risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, and premature death.
But lack of sleep is associated with another, no less important problem of our time – obesity. If a person seeks to lose weight, then in addition to a healthy diet and exercise, he needs to adjust sleep patterns. It is noteworthy that sleep on weekends — a practice most often associated with adolescents — may become more useful for adults. This happens not just at the request of the person, but because his body really needs it.
According to the results of studies published in Oxford magazine Sleep, people aged 19-82 years who slept on average two hours longer than usual during the weekend, had less weight problems than the others. The researchers noted that every additional hour of sleep twice a week reduced the body mass index by 0.12 kg / m2.
Scientists at Seoul National University arrived at a similar conclusion, noting that short sleep is a risk factor for obesity, hypertension, and coronary heart disease. Those who do not have the opportunity to fully get enough sleep on weekdays, they are advised to sleep longer at the weekend. This approach will help control excess weight.
In the South Korean study, there is an important addition that a longer sleep at the weekend is much more effective than a few minutes of naps during the day, since deep sleep is important for normalizing the processes in the body. Those who sleep little and little are usually inclined to consume more calories and move less. They often feel tired and lethargic.
Lack of sleep and excess weight
Another British study showed that people who did not sleep well during the night (less than five hours) rarely have breakfast, but they eat a lot of snacks during the day. Subsequently, their excess weight often increases (on average, 800-900 g per week). It is noteworthy that they consumed most of their extra calories after dinner and before bedtime. Those participants in the experiment, who slept about eight to nine hours a day, maintained their weight well and consumed fewer foods with a high content of carbohydrates and fats.
Interestingly, men and women reacted differently to food after a lack of sleep. For example, men, regardless of the amount of sleep gained weight, if they could eat as much as they wanted. And women could successfully maintain their weight with adequate sleep, regardless of the amount of available food. But when they were allowed to sleep only five hours, they noticeably gained weight.
Thus, scientists note that additional or complete sleep by itself is unlikely to lead to weight loss. However, lack of sleep increases the risk of obesity and interferes with the control of excess weight.
Lack of sleep and hormones
One of the most unpleasant results of the lack of constant, quality sleep is a hormonal imbalance, when hormones responsible for the feeling of hunger and weight control begin to function improperly. Chronic lack of sleep can lead to the fact that ghrelin (“hunger hormone”) is produced in excess, and this causes a person to eat more.
Because of this imbalance, people more often eat before bedtime. And since ghrelin affects the pleasure centers of the brain, a person chooses for a nocturnal meal no more useful product, but one that he likes more. And this, as a rule, are sweets or smoked foods rich in carbohydrates and sodium, contributing to the deposition of fat.
In addition to ghrelin, an excess of leptin, the “obesity hormone”, can lead to excess weight. Consumption of foods high in carbohydrates at bedtime increases insulin production and increases blood sugar levels. This in turn enhances leptin formation. Since it is secreted by adipose tissue, if overweight its level will be higher than normal, which can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, stroke and diabetes. According to research, those who sleep a little have a lower level of leptin and a surplus of ghrelin. This imbalance increases appetite and increases body mass index.
Refusing to eat before bedtime and metabolism
Some Western nutritionists advise to limit the daily intake of food for a certain time, namely: there are only six to eight-hour intervals throughout the day. For example, if a person missed breakfast and plans to make dinner his first meal, that is, it is desirable for him only from 11.00 to 18.00. The main thing is that the last meal was not later than three hours before bedtime.
In order to properly fit into this gap and not to stay hungry before bedtime, you need to eat often and in small portions. The method of nutrition at certain intervals will allow more efficient to burn the glycogen stores, which stores glucose. Usually it takes 8-12 hours for the body to burn sugar. If you limit yourself to food for 14-16 hours (for example, from 18.00 to 8-11.00), then the body has time to get rid of glycogen stores and switch to fat burning mode.
It is important to understand that each person, depending on age and physiological characteristics, may have his own needs for rest. But the recommended amount of sleep should not include time spent lying in bed, but the process of sleep.