Why poor sleep could make you fat

It comes as no surprise that increase in obesity over recent decades has grown hand in hand with chronic sleep problems. In fact scientific evidence shows a strong link between lack of sleep and weight increase. Shorter sleep has also been found to be linked to an increased body mass index (BMI).

So how do poor sleep habits lead to weight gain?

Well when you don’t sleep well your body triggers the hunger hormones. Leptin (the hormone that triggers you are full) is decreased and Grehlin (the one that makes you hungry) is increased.  Your body temperature also decreases and this leads to less energy expenditure and increased fatigue. And to make matters worse, lack of sleep triggers the reward centre in your brain so that you are more likely to reach out for foods high in sugar, salt and fat. And when you’re so tired you are more than likely living on adrenaline which also leads you to crave more salt. There’s also the obvious one that the longer you’re awake the more time you have for eating. Overall if you’re not sleeping well you’ll feel tired and lacking energy and so the last thing you’ll probably feel like is to head to the gym.

So if you’re not sleeping well it may be time you did something about it. Why not start with downloading my book.