5 Eye-Opening Ways Poor Sleep Is Making You Gain Weight

Sleep is the foundation on which the pillars of Exercise and Nutrition are built.

Training hard and eating well whilst sleeping poorly is like having one foot on the accelerator and the other foot on the brake.

Sleeping better releases the brakes.

Poor sleep is defined as:
- 6 or less hours a night
- waking up 5+ times a night
- not being able to make it through your day without needing 3+ coffees

If you tick even 1 of those boxes you have poor sleep.

Poor sleep leads to unwanted weight gain.

Here are 5 reasons why:

1. Deregulated appetite hormones:

There are 2 hormones which control how hungry we feel and how full we get. Poor sleep throws these hormones out of whack… this can feel like an insatiable appetite, uncontrollable overeating and intense sugar cravings.

2. Down-regulated movement:

Our bodies are smart. When we’re tired, in order to save energy our body down-regulates movement. Less fidgeting, less foot tapping, less subconscious movement. But we need movement for weight loss. So sleeping less reduces our incidental movement and long term inhibits our weight loss journey.

3. Poor training performance:

Bringing intensity to our training sessions is a critical part in the weight loss journey. When tired our body cannot produce the intensities required for progress. This makes the weight loss journey even harder.

4. Increased injury rate:

We’ve not only got sub-par training performance but we’re also at a higher risk of injury. Our body does all of its healing during sleep. If this period of recovery is compromised, inflammation goes up and the likelihood of soft-tissue injuries goes up… Nothing derails a weight loss journey faster than a tweaked back or torn rotator cuff.

5. Low motivation:

It’s hard to feel motivated when we’re tired. When we have energy we feel motivated. Poor sleep is low energy. Low energy is low motivation. Everything feels harder… like sticking to the diet and showing up for training.

Do people lose weight even when their sleep is sh*t?

Of course.

But the question is for how long… and can they sustain the weight loss.

On a long enough time scale the answer is always no.

Making sleep a priority is part of your obligation of being a healthy human.

Need help improving your sleep?

Speak to one of our team today and book in a sleep consultation.

WHERE DO YOU GO FROM HERE?

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