Sleep Strategies for Fat Loss
Here is another edition of BETTER: emails designed to give you tools to push you towards your goals.
Today, we discuss how sleep can affect your pursuit of losing body fat.
Read on:
Poor sleep results in poor appetite control. When we don't get enough quality sleep, the hormones controlling our hunger and satiety don't work as they should. This leads to eating more on the days we are underslept. Try making sleep a priority for several days in a row. Put yourself to bed early and wake up later if possible. Aim to keep your bed and wake times consistent, even on weekends. Also, work hard to allow at least 2-3 hours between your last meal and bedtime. This will allow your body to focus on deep, restful sleep rather than digestion.
Your ability to say no to tasty things is lower when you're tired. When we're exhausted, there's only so much willpower we can muster up throughout the day. You might be struggling to finish that last-minute project while coordinating pick up and drop-offs for your kids or working hard to stay alert enough to provide a quality response on that work call, and the last thing you want to eat is that prepped meal of chicken, rice, and veggies that is sitting in the fridge. Doesn't a takeout sandwich and six Oreos from your kid's snack shelf sound much better!? Ensure you get enough quality sleep by minimizing screen use for 30 minutes before bed and switching to a more relaxing activity like reading a book (paperback is a tremendous screen-free choice!), doing light stretching, or listening to relaxing music.
Alcohol will torpedo your sleep and your gains. Especially when consumed within 3 hours of bedtime, alcohol acts as a significant stressor to our system and inhibits our ability to enter the deep and REM zones of sleep, which are where all the magical processes help us recover from the day's stress. Instead of putting yourself in a recovery hole, try switching to a non-alcoholic beer or cocktail or grab a fancy kombucha or carbonated beverage. There are so many options there that taste great and still let you participate in social gatherings without the adverse side effects that alcohol gives.
How much sleep is enough? Generally, we need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night to adequately recover and restore optional functions to our systems. If you train hard, have a demanding job, or simply experience a lot of daily stress, you most likely need more sleep, so strive for the top end of this recommendation.
Good to know: Research has shown that a mere 15-minute increase in sleep time can positively improve body fat management.
How do we start getting better at sleeping? Pick one of the suggestions in the information above and try it out for a few days. Be aware of how you are feeling. Do you feel more alert, more motivated, and less snack-ey? If so, remember that feeling and bring it back up when you know it's your bedtime but want to stay up!