Can Sleeping in Help to Manage Your Weight?

Can Sleeping in Help to Manage Your Weight?

Out of bed sleepy head! If all you’ve been longing for is a nice sleep in on the weekend to recoup from your hectic working week, Bondi Beach Tea Co. has uncovered a little something that you’re going to appreciate hearing.

Documented research and findings already confirm that sleep is vital for helping to keep you healthy and avoiding the onset of chronic illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. But research [1] has also now uncovered that the odd sleep in can actually have a positive effect on your weight too.

According to researchers, if you have trouble sleeping during the week because of work commitments or social obligations, then you should try to have a catch-up over the weekend in the form of a sleep in. A sleep in is also more effective than naps during the day, as you tend to have a better-quality sleep and don’t interfere with your proper sleep patterns. If you are constantly having less sleep than is required during the week; however, it is believed the effects of your weekend sleep-in will diminish. What’s more important is to keep a steady balance.

There have been various studies on the topic of sleep and obesity. It is believed that adults who short sleep tend to eat smaller breakfasts, one of the most important meals of the day, and binged on more snacks during the day.

Exhaustion from sleep can also play havoc on the body’s hunger-regulating hormones. Ghrelin in particular, is a hormone that is triggered from chronic lack of sleep and can make you feel hungry even when you don’t need to eat. This hormone also seems to impact your brain’s pleasure centre, tricking you into eating another bowl of the latest sugary snack as you reminisce how good it tasted and how you felt while chowing down. This is especially concerning for late-night snacks. It is often the more carbohydrate-rich foods you opt for at this time of the night, promoting overeating, storing the unused carbs as fat, and leading to unnecessary weight gain, all from a lack of sleep!

You should be careful with your eating patterns and try not to eat any meals or snacks any closer than three hours before bedtime. This gives your body a chance to metabolise the foods and avoid those late-night munchies!

Getting less sleep than your body needs each night can result in unwanted side effects and weight-gain promoters like:

• A decrease in your metabolism
• Reduces your interest in exercise or physical activity
• Interferes with your ability to resist cravings and unnecessary snacking
• Increases your intake of calories
• Increases your risk of insulin resistance

The best way to avoid all of this is by setting yourself a good sleep routine, preparing for bed, and getting a good night’s rest. When this is not achievable every night, remember you don’t need to get the onset of a guilt trip each time you have a little weekend sleep in to catch up. However, the best way to manage your sleep cycle and pattern is to aim for eight to nine hours of solid sleep each night.

Are you having trouble getting to sleep? Bondi Beach Tea Co. Snooze Blend could help take the burden away. A tasty, natural herbal tea with specially blended ingredients to help put your head to the pillow. Check out Bondi Snooze, and all our other tea blends, online now.

Sources:

[1] Sleep: 19 May 2017, Association between Weekend Catch-up Sleep and Lower Body Mass: Population-Based Study