Can you sleep your way to thin?

Ok so maybe you can’t sleep yourself thin but rest assured, if you’re looking to lose weight, a lack of sleep stacks the odds of winning against you.

A study showed that people who sleep 8 hours a night have twice the chance of slimming down successfully. Fact. But it’s not just your weight a lack of sleep affects. Anxiety, stress, performance, decision making and even how long you LIVE are all negatively affected by the amount of sleep you get. Combine stress and sleep loss and you’re twice as likely to fail when it comes to losing weight compared with other wellrested individuals. A lack of sleep can also affect the hormones associated with feeling hungry (and satisfied after eating) plus the fatigue can play havoc with sticking to your new diet regime. In a nutshell – you need your sleep! So how much sleep is enough? How much do YOU actually need? There are lots of mythical numbers thrown around but it’s typically recommended that you get between 6 and 8 hours GOOD sleep a night.

That’s pretty broad. How much sleep you actually need is a personal thing. There isn’t an exact number for everyone. For the majority it’s lies between 6 and 8 hours, plus there are outliers amongst us. One person my get by on 5 hours sleep and another can't survive without 10 hours sleep, and both can then equally perform the same daily duties with the same energy. The reality is, you have to listen to your body. That means you get a good nights, quality uninterrupted sleep. Your goal is to wake up naturally, feeling refreshed and with good energy levels throughout the day. If that sounds like you, then you’re getting enough sleep. As a rule try to get up at the same time every morning. Then go to bed when you feel sleepy, so if you’re watching TV and dozing off at 9pm then go to bed. The next night you might be fine until midnight. It’s an individual thing. Go to bed when you feel like you could fall straight to sleep and do your very best to get up at the same time each and every morning.

Other factors to remember for a good nights sleep are turning off devices an hour before you go to bed if you can so your brain has a chance to wind down. Don't drink alcohol or eat heavy meals or snack on sugary foods either, your body stays awake to break it down to remove it from your body. And keep paper and pen by your bed so that any thoughts, worries, to do lists or any other thoughts that run through your mind late at night can be written down so you can sleep soundly with out it running around in your head.

You can't live without sleep and with sleep you’ll be happier, feel less stressed, be more productive and lose more weight.

It’s time to value your sleep!