Sleep + De-stress = Weight Loss?

Recent research has shown that getting too little or too much sleep can result in weight gain or an inability to lose weight.  In one study, people who got six to seven hours of sleep per night gained less visceral fat over 5 years compared to those who slept five or fewer hours per night or eight or more hours per night.

In another study subjects who were deprived of sleep for just one night experienced pronounced changes in the way their brains responded to high-calorie junk foods. Fattening foods like potato chips and sweets stimulated stronger responses in a part of the brain that helps govern the motivation to eat. In addition, the subjects experienced a sharp reduction in activity in the frontal cortex, a higher-level part of the brain where consequences are weighed and rational decisions are made.  So it appears that a sleepy brain not only responds more strongly to junk food, but also has less ability to resist those impulses.  In fact, a study at the University of Colorado showed that losing just a few hours of sleep a few nights in a row caused people to pack on an average of about two pounds.

Dr. Wright, the director of the sleep and chronobiology lab at the University of Colorado at Boulder says, “There’s something that changes in our brain when we’re sleepy that’s irrespective of how much energy we need. The brain wants more even when the energy need has been fulfilled.”  Dr. Wright called the findings exciting and said that they help explain why people make poor dietary choices and eat much more than they need to when fatigued.  In an independent review of this study, Dr. Walker proposed that getting adequate sleep may be the equivalent of rebooting the brain and rebalancing the brain and body. He says it is increasingly clear from the medical literature that there is not a single tissue in the body that is not beneficially affected by sleep.

As we have mentioned before, sleep deprivation negatively effects the balance of hormones in our body which can contribute to weight gain.  The stress hormone cortisol climbs, hormones that stimulate appetite increase and the hormones that diminish appetite drop.  People also become less sensitive to insulin which raises their risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Sleep deprivation is not the only factor that causes an increase in cortisol levels.  The presence of cortisol in our bodies is normal and serves many important functions.  Cortisol is released in response to stress, sparing available glucose for the brain, generating new energy from stored reserves, and diverting energy from low-priority activities (such as the immune system) in order to survive immediate threats or prepare for the exertion of rising to a new day. However, prolonged cortisol secretion (which may be due to chronic stress) results in significant physiological changes. This disruption of cortisol secretion may not only promote weight gain, but it can also affect where you put on the weight. Some studies have shown that stress and elevated cortisol tend to cause fat deposition in the abdominal area rather than in the hips.

Much of the stress we face in our lives is uncontrollable but we can take some steps to reduce stress. We can also improve the way our bodies deal with stress by following a regular fitness program, getting the proper amount of sleep and making good nutritional choices.