Does Sleep Really Affect Body Weight?

Studies have found that the amount and quality of sleep you get, can affect the hormonesdefine that rule your appetite and hence you find it hard to maintain your weight when you are not seeping properly or when you sleep poorly.

Various international studies have found that people who sleep less than six hours per night have a higher body mass indexdefine than those who sleep seven to eight hours. The hormonesdefine to blame for this are called Ghrelin and leptin.

Ghrelin makes people hungry, slows metabolism and decreases the body's ability to burn fat while leptin signals your brain when you are full. If you are not sleeping properly, leptin level falls in your body and even after eating something you feel hungry. If you are sleeping for short duration, Ghrelin levels rise which tells us to eat more food and store fat.

Look out if you are craving for food more than usual after a sleepless night and usually you will find yourself reaching for sugary foods or carbohydrate laden foods, with the idea that these might pep you up. What you don't know is that these foods are often combined with fats, so you get a double dose of extra kilojoules.

Health experts are of the opinion that if you are dieting or trying to maintain a healthy weight, it's worth getting a few extra hours of sleep a week. If you are sleeping more, it means less false hunger and when you're resting it’s easier to resist food.

In short, not only a good diet and physical activity help keep pounds off, but now adequate sleep can also do the trick.

To get more sleep you can try wearing sleep mask, as even with your eyes closed, your eyes still can see light. Therefore, putting up a sleep mask will make you sleep longer as, we are meant to wake up at dawn and sleep when it’s dark.

Try eating your meals at fixed times as this will help in regulating Ghrelin, leptin, melatonin and other hormones that affect sleep.