Have you ever felt too wound up to be able to sleep peacefully? Did you ever crave a cup of coffee just because you are feeling sleepy? Sleep has always been an extremely important activity that helps us get through our daily lives. But it is often this very activity that we like to sacrifice. Be it for studies or work or just a late-night movie, we often choose our body’s resting time as our free time to use up for other activities.
In fact, we often take pride in pulling of all-nighters, and going to sleep late but waking up early. This affects our health tremendously. And there is another factor which is deeply affected because of our lack of sleep – that is our weight.
Lack of Sleep Causes Weight Gain
Sleep and weight loss are related to each other in many ways. Whenever we are sleep deprived and feeling drowsy, we end up either loading ourselves with caffeine, or food that has a lot of sugar in it to get energy.
Food like chips, chocolates, etc, are always the tidbits that we end up eating at the nod of our heads. We trade sleepiness with the hunger hormones in our body to keep ourselves up and about. Not getting enough sleep also makes us feel tired, irritated and frustrated, leading us to eat more due to the additional stress.
The main reason why you might gain weight due to lack of sleep is that two hormones come to play when that happens. The ghrelin hormone or the hunger hormone is more when you haven’t had the required amount of sleep, making you eat more.
The leptin hormone which
majorly stops you from eating more is present in lesser amounts in your body when you are sleep deprived. When both act together, that is when you start gaining weight, thanks to the lack of sleep.
Eating loads of calories is not the only reason that accelerates weight gain. Lack of sleep can also cause your metabolism to go haywire. Missing out on good quality sleep means that your body will not function the way it is supposed to. An average of 7.5 hours of quality sleep is required every night to let your body rest and recuperate properly. Uncomfortable, bad quality sleep for 7.5 to 8 hours is equivalent to having sleepless nights, resulting in weight gain.
Why is sleep so important to losing weight?
From the above points mentioned, it is clear that sleep is extremely important when it comes to losing weight. According to WebMD, if you cut back or skimp on your sleep for a period of 14 days, then even if you are dieting and consuming the same amount of calories, the amount of weight and fat loss drops by 55%. That means you don’t lose weight anymore. Remember that proper sleep helps you avoid any excessive weight gains, which will help you lose weight over time. Exercise, controlled diet and a good amount of quality sleep is the perfect answer for weight loss, at any point in time.
How to improve the quality of my sleep
Do you often have trouble sleeping? Do you keep waking up at night, disturbing your sleeping habits? Are you looking for ways to improve the quality of your sleep? Then here are a few tips for you to achieve that:
No caffeine before bedtime: This is extremely important if you want your sleep to be restful. Caffeine acts as a stimulant to keep you awake. Be it coffee, tea, carbonated cola drinks or chocolate, make sure that you avoid these for at least 5 to 6 hours before bedtime.
Keep a check on fluid intake: It is important to drink enough water so that you don’t feel thirsty while you are asleep. But that also means that you need to keep your fluid intake in control so that you don’t end up waking for a midnight visit to the washroom and end up disturbing your sleep.
Have light dinners: That one plate of biriyani might satisfy your cravings but will not help you sleep at night, especially if you have it late at night. Have early dinners and snack that will not cause indigestion or discomfort, hampering the quality of your sleep.
Get a mattress that will help you sleep: An uncomfortable, or old, or unsupportive mattress will make your sleep cycles go berserk. In order to get good quality, peaceful, restful sleep, you will need a mattress that will not be comfortable but will also support the weight and the pressure-induced by your body on it. Such a mattress will make sure you get your daily dose of 8 hours of sleep.
Conclusion
Just like sleep is important for losing weight, sleep is also important for your physical and mental health. In order to be healthy overall, you need to sleep well. And to sleep well, you need a mattress that will promote that. Springwel houses a wide range of mattresses that make sure you get the sleep you deserve. Our mattresses are carefully engineered to give you maximum support and comfort so that your night is a peaceful one. All you need to do to get one is to visit one of your stores or check out the products on our website and buy a mattress online. We will cater to your requirements and provide you with the perfect mattress for your good night’s sleep. So hurry, your restful night is waiting for you.
