How Sleep and Hormones Affect our Weight

Sleep is essential for both the mind and body to function and work optimally throughout the day. Many of us have felt the grueling effects of sleep deprivation. Whether that be exhaustion, difficulty focusing, or fatigue, our body is letting us know that we need to rest.

However, a side effect many people are unaware of is how lack of sleep can cause unintentional weight gain. New research is indicating that there is a correlation between lack of sleep and increased BMI. This can put you at risk for many different chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease.

Why does this happen?

Our body has two main hormones that affect our hunger. Leptin is our satiating hormone and allows our brain to know that we are full and can stop eating. Ghrelin is our hunger hormone, and it signals to our brain that we need to eat more. When we are hungry, our ghrelin levels increase and then drop when we are full.

After we are finished eating, our leptin levels increase and start to lower again as our body utilizes its food stores. Our hormones are sensitive to change and one factor that can easily alter the body’s normal ghrelin and leptin levels is sleep. One recent study looked at nine healthy adults who spent three separate nights in a sleep lab where they had the participants sleep 7 hours for one night, 4.5 hours the other night, and kept the participants sleep-deprived during their final night in the sleep lab.

When comparing labs during a full night’s rest (7+ hours) to their labs after a night of sleep deprivation, the results indicated that ghrelin jumped up by 10 percent in sleep-deprived patients when compared to adequate sleep. This means that just one night of poor sleep can have a direct impact on your appetite the following day.

What are the long-term effects?

Individuals who are consistently deprived of sleep will have elevated ghrelin and decreased leptin levels when measured against people who get adequate sleep. In comparison, people who are overweight/obese also have higher levels of ghrelin in their system and lower levels of leptin in their blood when assessed with individuals with a normal

BMI. This is important to note because people who are classified as obese, over time run the risk of becoming leptin resistant.

This means that no matter how much leptin the body produces, the receptors in the body that acknowledge the leptin will stop working. This can better help us understand why reversing obesity is not a simple task, when the hormones meant to regulate your hunger do not function normally anymore.

What can you do?

The good news is long restful sleep can rehabilitate your ghrelin and leptin levels to normal. If you practice good sleep hygiene, over time you can positively influence weight management. According to the Sleep Foundation, healthy adults need anywhere between seven to nine hours of sleep every night.

Tips such as closing all the lights in the bedroom, going to sleep without the television, limiting caffeine intake after noon, turning off your phone, and finishing eating two hours before bed can help build a more natural environment for sleep. In no time at all you, can curate your nighttime routine that can help you get back on track to help you get quality sleep every night. n

Previously in Keeping Secrets, 15-year-old Paige learns that her mom, Alice, is a spy and that her dad has been kidnapped by Alice’s rogue boss, Piper. With the help of Brayden, Paige’s friend from school, and tech guy Tom, they track Alice down and find Nathan, Paige’s dad. After Piper holds Paige hostage, Alice tries to strike up a deal to finally get out of this whole mess. But just when Alice finally gets the upper hand, the police show up to arrest her and Paige.