Did you know that only a few people get enough sleep every night? The recommended amount is 7-9 hours, but most people only get less than 6 hours, which can leave you feeling tired and even hurt your health.
The risks of not sleeping enough
Not getting enough sleep can harm your health by weakening your immune and nervous systems, making you more likely to get sick or have other health problems. And we all know sleep is important, but we often don’t pay enough attention to it.
If you're trying to lose weight, not sleeping enough is bad. Poor sleep can cause insulin resistance, which makes it harder to lose stubborn fat. And that’s not all—there are other negative effects too, which you can read below.
Additional consequences of poor sleep:
- Bigger changes in blood sugar levels
- Higher chance of getting diabetes
- Gaining weight
- Higher stress hormone levels
- Lower ability to process sugar
- Higher levels of the hunger hormone, ghrelin
Even one night of bad sleep can cause these issues, so it’s really important to make sleep a priority.
To learn more about how sleep affects weight loss, check out "Why We Sleep" by Dr. Matthew Walker. It explains how sleep is important for health and metabolism.
Conclusion
While eating right and exercising are important for weight loss, sleep should be at the top of your list. Don’t ignore how important a good sleep routine is—more on that in a future blog. By improving your sleep, you’ll be one step closer to reaching your weight loss goals.