How Sleep Hinders Your Weight Loss Goals (& How to Fix It!)

We’re going to cut right to the chase here - the importance of sleep cannot be emphasized enough. Whether you already sleep well and are looking to improve your zzz’s, or struggle and can’t seem to get through the night peacefully, the nutrition and lifestyle implications of sleep on our total health and wellness are incredibly important, especially considering we sleep more than 30% of our lives!

There is a clear inverse relationship in the research between sleep and weight, so we’re going to review why sleep is important, how sleep hinders weight loss efforts, and science-backed tips to improve it.  

In this article:

• Why Sleep Is Important

• What Happens When We Sleep

• The Inverse Relationship Between Sleep & Weight

• Sleep and Body Weight

• Sleep and Hormone Regulation

• Sleep and Technology

• 5 Tips to Get Your Best Night's Sleep

Why Sleep Is Important 

At its baseline, sleep is important for neurological processes and physiological restoration, imparting both mental and physical health benefits such as emotional well-being, cognitive function, focus, daytime performance, and physical health.

On the flip side, a shorter sleep duration (categorized as less than 7 hours per night), is associated with a whole host of potential negative outcomes such as an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, inflammation, and heightened emotional reactivity accompanied by reduced attention, memory, and cognitive function. Moreover, the effects felt from lack of sleep on cognitive function are so apparent that they are comparable to impairments caused by the over-consumption of alcohol. If you’ve ever had a night of horrible sleep, you know what this means.

What Happens When We Sleep

What exactly makes sleep so restorative? At night, the onset of darkness and the withdrawal of light stimulates melatonin production from the pineal gland, helping to induce feelings of sleepiness. During sleep, our bodies undergo many physiological changes including a decreased heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, respiration, and blood oxygen saturation. These changes ultimately help decrease energy expenditure and help initiate and sustain sleep. 

There are two main types of sleep: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. NREM sleep is where the majority of sleep occurs, and is categorized as dreamless in nature divided into four different stages. Although eye movement happens in both types of sleep, its rapid movement in REM sleep indicates a dream state and accounts for nearly a quarter of total sleep time. It’s categorized by increased memory consolidation and starts to occur after the first 60-90 minutes of sleep. 

The Inverse Relationship Between Sleep & Weight

Widely backed by research, sleep and weight have been found to have an inverse relationship with each other, meaning when one increases, the other decreases, and vice versa. Why is this important to know? Because if you are experiencing difficulties in your weight loss journey, it might be time to take a second look at the value and prioritization you give to sleep.

This can be a complex and multifaceted issue, because let’s face it - most of us are not intentionally denying ourselves sleep, rather it’s a combination of various lifestyle and social factors leading to a decrease in total sleeping hours. And even if sleep feels impossible, increasing the awareness of how the diverse array of lifestyle factors are interacting is a great first step towards change. 

Sleep and Body Weight

As stated above, there is a ton of research outlining the inverse relationship between body weight and sleep. While this was observed more frequently in males vs females, it’s important to note that inadequate sleep may be a contributing factor to outcomes such as obesity and diabetes. On the flip side, a reduced weight status is associated with healthy changes in sleep patterns, such as improved sleep duration. But why is this?

In research studies, a reduced sleep duration was positively associated with an intake of foods that were higher in fat and sugar, as well as an increased percentage of daily calories coming from fat and snacks. Interestingly enough, adults with a shorter sleep duration (<6 hours) also saw a significantly higher alcohol consumption than those with a longer sleep duration.

Additionally, daytime sleepiness (often felt from not getting great sleep) is associated with lower self-control with high-fat and calorie snacks and foods. In fact, after just five nights of partial sleep deprivation, specific regions of the brain were more activate in response to unhealthy food stimuli compared with normal sleep duration in healthy adults. 

Sleep and Hormone Regulation

Sleep also plays a huge role in hormone regulation that helps control our appetite and satiety levels. Concentrations of the hormone leptin (inhibits appetite) and ghrelin (stimulates appetite) are altered with shorter sleep duration. If you ever had a night of very poor sleep and found yourself craving high fat/calorie/sugar food items, this is why!

Although research is mixed, the overall consensus from the alteration of these hormone concentrations from short sleep duration is associated with increased calorie intake and weight status. 

Sleep and Technology

This likely is no surprise to anyone (at all), but the research has confirmed that the use of televisions, computers, video games, phones, etc. during the evening hours are correlated with shorter sleep duration, poor sleep patterns, and daytime sleepiness. Three main reasons are connected to the poor outcomes seen with increased technology exposure.

For one, the bright lights emitted from these media displays can counteract the natural effects of darkness on sleep initiation and maintenance.

Second, consuming media in the evening hours may elicit a stress response making it more difficult to achieve sleep due to the highly stimulating nature of the content consumed and emotion elicited such as excitement, fear, suspense, and so on.

Lastly, there is a clear association between increased media / technology use and decreased physical activity, which is associated with improved sleep quality.  

5 Tips to Get Your Best Night’s Sleep

All of these findings pose a ‘chicken or the egg’ based-question. Is sleep negatively affected due to the lifestyle factors mentioned above such as increased calorie and alcohol consumption, or do we see higher intake levels due to inability to get great sleep?

Our guess is a mix of both, however a good place to start could be to mimic the habits of those people with longer sleep duration (lower intake from high fat, processed snacks, and alcohol), as well as assessing behaviors associated with stressful situations or an overabundance of appetizing foods with an inclination to overeat.

Below, we’ll go through the top evidence-based recommendations to get your best night’s sleep. 

Timing:

Our bodies are cyclical in nature and rely on our circadian rhythm (the 24 hour internal clock that regulates physical, mental, and behavior changes). Implementing a consistent timing of sleep will help, such as setting a set bed-time and wake-up time each day.

If you struggle with getting to sleep early enough, sometimes the best place to start is with a firm wake-up time - it might be extremely difficult for the first few days or weeks, but eventually this will help you feel tired earlier in the night. 

Physical Activity:

Regular physical activity and exercise is associated with improved sleep outcomes and quality. Aim to engage in regular physical activity on a daily basis.

Caffeine Consumption:

Even small amounts of caffeine intake can disrupt sleep patterns and quality. If you struggle with sleep, try reducing or eliminating caffeine-containing foods and beverages after lunchtime.

Technology:

Eliminate technology usage as much as possible before bedtime and aim to limit bright light exposure in the evening hours. This can disrupt the natural physiological preparation for sleep and decrease both quality and quantity.

Turn down the brightness on your phone, set a wind-down schedule if you’re an Apple user, and rely on low-lit lamps vs overhead lights after the sun goes down. 

Environment & Bedtime Routine:

Aim to create a bedtime routine that promotes a relaxed state and creates a comfortable, dark environment.

This might include turning on the air (most health professionals recommend a

temperature set between 65-68 degrees Fahrenheit for best sleep quality), dimming

bright overhead lights, prayer, journaling, or any other low stimulating activities meant to prepare your mind and body for sleep.

Reference:

Golem, D. L., Martin-Biggers, J. T., Koenings, M. M., Davis, K. F., & Byrd-Bredbenner, C. 

(2014). An Integrative Review of Sleep for Nutrition Professionals. Advances in

Nutrition, 5(6), 742–759. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.114.006809

Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is for informational purposes only. Any changes to your nutrition & health should be supervised by a registered dietitian or physician.