WHY GOOD QUALITY SLEEP IS SO IMPORTANT FOR WEIGHT LOSS
When our schedules are busy, sleep tends to be the part of our routine that will suffer. You might get just enough sleep to be able to function, but find yourself reaching for caffeine and sugar in hopes of getting more energy to push through (or maybe you aren’t aware this is why you reach for those things).
Most likely, you’ve been told how important sleep is but there’s just not enough time in your 24 hours to get enough. Did you know that lack of sleep can lead to weight gain as well as other health problems? As holistic health coaches, we make sure our clients set themselves up for the best quality sleep they can and this in turn sets them up for the best chance of successful (and sustainable) weight loss. Read on to learn more!
Understanding The Power of Sleep on Your Body
I love my sleep. It affects e v e r y t h i n g. When I have enough and quality is solid I feel like I can be my ultimate best self. And when I don't have enough and it's choppy, look out world (I'm sorry in advance).
Sleep affects your wellness and weight loss goals whether you *feel* like it does or not. You might be really good at covering up the effects, caffeine, distractions, just pushing through... however poor sleep, both in quality and quantity, has bigger impacts than just what you feel, it impacts your wellness and your ability to lose weight.
Did you know that sleep...
Promotes cellular growth
Keeps your immune system strong
Boosts memory, clearer thinking, learning and attention span
Helps keep blood sugar balanced
Manages hunger hormones
Is when we synthesis, secrete, and metabolize hormones necessary for reproduction
Reduces stress and improves mood (we have all noticed this!)
Lowers your risk of serious health problems (such as diabetes and heart disease)
Helps to maintain a healthy weight
Basically, sleep impacts pretty much everything, it is our brain and body’s time for rejuvenation. A book I love all about sleep is Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. I suggest giving it a read, it gave me such an appreciation for the hours spent sleeping!
Why Insufficient Sleep Leads to Weight Gain
We all know about those initial side effects of poor sleep or lack of sleep like low energy or fatigue, less desire to move whether in steps or structured exercise, low mood and sour attitude. Plus the part about too little sleep that could prompt you to eat bigger portions of food or crave sugar or carbohydrate dense foods in order to receive energy (that which you didn't get from sleep).
All of these can lead to poor wellness and a struggle losing weight, however I want to talk about the lesser known and arguably more important issues with too little quality or quantity sleep and how that plays a role in your wellness and weight loss.
Insufficient sleep can lead to cortisol spikes, blood sugar intolerance, insulin resistance, and increased oxidative stress. It's these conditions that lead to poor metabolism, weight gain, and various stages of diabetes.
Cortisol Spikes
The stress hormone cortisol is produced by the HPA axis, which also helps coordinate your sleep cycles. When the HPA axis is disrupted through poor nutrition, chronic stress, or illness, this can result in insomnia and other sleep disturbances.
Sleep disturbances lead to dysregulated cortisol (and blood sugar) - it’s a cycle. If you’re not getting adequate sleep, your body pulls on its reserves to be able to function throughout the day. Your brain produces more cortisol which sends a message to your body to store energy throughout the day which translates to storing fat and therefore weight gain.
Blood Sugar Intolerance
The amount of sleep you get each night affects your blood sugar production, with not enough sleep you can develop an insulin intolerance. Studies have in fact shown that those getting less than 6 hours of sleep a night, greatly increase their risk of diabetes.
Oxidative Stress
This is when harmful free radicals outnumber beneficial antioxidants.
Free radicals are oxygen-containing molecules that can react easily to other molecules which can then cause large chemical chain reactions in your body. To be positive free radicals, they need to be balanced by antioxidants in your body, but when your body has more of them than can be balanced, they become harmful.
It’s impossible to totally avoid free radicals in your life, but there are some you can avoid, such as cigarette smoke and pollution (see this blog on detoxifying your home). What is more in your power, is good quality sleep and getting enough antioxidants in your food. This is what we teach in our personalized health and nutrition consultations.
Metabolism
We are all guilty of blaming our metabolism for our weight management struggles, but instead of blaming it, we should be appreciating and optimizing it. It is the magical chemical process in our body that is turning what we eat and drink into energy. This isn’t just energy needed to go for a run or host a meeting, it is what we need to survive - from breathing to exercising.
Exercise can temporarily increase metabolism (read this blog for more info!) but it actually slows down during sleep and its lowest rate is in the morning. But that’s not something to be fearful of! With good quality, regular sleep (and other factors discussed in the above blog) our metabolism can work to its full potential. Whereas sleep deprivation (whether intentional or through disorders) can lead to metabolic dysregulation as well as the other symptoms listed above.
How to Dramatically Improve Your Sleep
Now, you may not like to admit it, but many of the sleep problems you experience are the result of your own doing - after all, it's your daily habits and behaviors that are disrupting your ability to get enough and good quality sleep. At VRHC we work with clients in all areas of their lives in order to reach their weight loss goals, sleep is one of them. If you want to find out how we can help, get in touch for a free no-commitment consultation.
Morning routine
Our circadian rhythm optimizes our energy usage throughout the day. By setting your circadian rhythm properly through evening habits, sleep and morning routine we are preparing the body for external cues. Here are some practices I use to ease me into the day (and help my sleep the next evening!):
Brain body breath wake up
Light in eyes - lamp/light
Hydrate
Move gently
Meal within an hour of waking
Tip #1: Awaken with light: either the natural sunrise or a light lamp that simulates sun. Sleeping in, even for an extra hour, can push back the timing of your melatonin release that night.
Action step: Start to habit stack and place sunlight post alarm clock wake up. As soon as you wake, go right to your window and get your eyes in the sun, or, if you wake before the sunrise, use a light lamp like this one. Try to continue to bathe yourself in bright light throughout the morning. This will help regulate your melatonin cycle, improving your chances of feeling sleepy at the right time of night.
Tip #2: Eat breakfast within an hour of waking AND place your coffee POST food. This practice aligns with nature, and our cortisol levels to eat most of our calories early in the day. Waking hungry is a sign of a healthy metabolism. Remember caffeine is basically a plant version of adrenaline…
Action step: Start small. If you aren't waking hungry, You don't need to eat a whole plate of food, start with an egg and 1/2 cup berries or 1oz almonds or a small protein rich smoothie. Remember your body follows your lead. By waking at the same time each day and helping your body align it's circadian rhythms you'll also help your cortisol (stress hormones) balance which means you'll begin to get better sleep and help improve your metabolism (and therefore start waking up hungry).
Night time routine
What we do in the evening is also affecting our circadian rhythm. We have evolved to wake with the sunrise and sleep with the sunset, so if we stray too far off this, (confusing our bodies with unnatural light for example) we will not be getting good quality sleep. Here are a few products I use to aid my sleep: Amanda’s Amazon Storefront
Tip #1: Keep a Consistent Sleep Schedule: We often think we can make up for lost sleep by going to bed extra early another night but the body clock’s ability to regulate healthy sleep patterns depends on consistency. We stay up late on weekends, expecting to make up for sleep later or use the weekend to make up for lost sleep during the week. Both practices disrupt bodily rhythms and late night weekends in particular can cause insomnia during the workweek.
Action step: Getting up and going to bed around the same time, even on weekends, is the most important thing you can do to establish good sleep habits. Create a routine and stick to it. Our bodies thrive on regularity, it's the best reinforcement for the body’s internal clock. Waking and sleeping at set times reinforces a consistent sleep rhythm and reminds the brain when to release sleep and wake hormones, and more importantly, when not to.
Tip #2: Prepare For Sleep: Our bodies need time to produce enough sleep neurotransmitters to send feedback signals to the brain’s sleep center to release sleep hormones to allow you to sleep.
Action step: Take the time to slowly shift into sleep. I like to think of it in terms of slowing the brain, the body and the breath (the 3B's), here are some actions related:
Switch off all electronic devices 1-2 hours before bedtime.
Dim the lights an hour or more before going to bed.
Brain dump - journal out everything and anything on your mind.
Take a warm bath or shower, listen to calming music or soothing sounds, do some restorative yoga or relaxation exercises, try a guided meditation or deep breathing practice.
Eat 2-3 hours before bed rest and digest state vs rest and recover
Nose breathing (not mouth breathing): This reduces the risk of sleep apnea or snoring leading to a better night’s sleep
During the day
It’s important we use our brains and bodies throughout the day to optimize energy usage and improve sleep. Try having this 3 easy point checklist in your day:
Steps (try for at least 7-10 thousand per-day)
Movement (ideally a workout but this could just be stretching!)
Stress management practices to keep cortisol rhythms in check
Tip #1: Slow down. Stress and sleepless nights are closely linked. I KNOW that managing stress isn't sexy. It's often the thing that gets deprioritized when you are busy... but wait, isn't that all the time?! And if you continue to de-prioritize it you will continue to feel the effects, if it hasn't impacted your sleep yet, it will. Don't wait to have issues arise to start managing stress, be preventative.
Action step: A few ways to slow down and manage stress. Eat your meals undistracted (not in front of tech). Take time to be outside in nature. Practice deep breathing and meditation in small chunks throughout the day to slow your brain, body and breath. Focus on mono-tasking in between your multitasking.
Nutrients that you consumer during the day also play a huge role in our sleep but that’s for another post! If you want to know more about how to get the nutrients you need, get in touch for a health and nutrition consultation.
Need more guidance?
Start with these tips and if you are still having trouble, reach out and let us help. We all know how poor sleep affects us, just imagine how your body feels. It might just be the needed focus to improve your discomforts, support graceful aging or improve weight loss resistance.
I go into more detail of practices to help relieve stress and optimize sleep in this blog post; take a read and see which practices can become habits for you.
With these insights, I hope you can implement these tips into your daily routine. It might still feel like something is missing or it’s just too hard to keep yourself accountable. That’s where our coaches come in. You can book a complimentary obligation-free call to see how to get unstuck. Or if you’re ready for coaching, fill out a quick application form for free and one of our coaches will get in touch to find the best path for you. Just think, this could be the step to the best night’s sleep and the best body you’ve ever had!