Losing weight during sleep: Why getting enough sleep is so important!

Why is sleep so important for losing weight? What is the connection? And what happens in my body when I sleep?

Sleep is a matter that is almost never perceived as important when it comes to the topic of losing weight. Big mistake! After all, at night the body regenerates and many processes happen that are extremely important for digestion and the process of losing weight. In this article you will find out which simple tricks you can use to sleep healthier and how you can even lose weight during sleep.

It’s the weekend, you can finally sleep in, but your “inner clock” wakes you up at the same time as usual? The culprit here is the so-called circadian rhythm. This ensures that physiological processes, such as hunger, digestion, sleep, alertness or breathing, take place in a relatively constant period of time.  In humans, this period amounts to about 24 hours. Incidentally the most important of them is our sleep-wake rhythm. Special receptors in the retina of the eyes notice tiny rays of light and transmit this signal to our brain. If the light rays decrease, the receptors also notice this, and the brain begins to produce and release the hormone melatonin . Melatonin is also known as the “darkness hormone” because it prepares your body for sleep by slowly putting your bodily functions on the back burner. This causes your body temperature to drop during sleep, your blood pressure to drop and your pulse and  breathing to become slower. This means that you have a lower energy consumption but nevertheless, your body still does a lot of work at night. Find out below how you can even lose weight with healthy sleep.

Sleep plays an important role for your health and wellbeing. Your productivity can be maintained or even improved with sufficient sleep as well. Therefore, healthy sleep is essential for both your body’s and your brain’s performance. Additionally, various but vital regeneration processes are taking place in the body. So far, not all the important functions that our body performs during sleep have been researched. However, it is clear:

While we sleep …

… we save energy.

… our energy reserves fill up (e.g. glycogen in the brain).

… our metabolism regulates.

… our cells renew themselves.

… the immune system is strengthened.

… our body and mind are recovering.

… the brain processes information and stores it in our long-term memory.

Too little sleep can really mess up your hormone balance. Hormones are particularly important for a healthy sleep and can even influence fat burning during sleep.  Read about which hormones influence your weight loss process  in the following paragraphs.

A disturbance of the natural light-dark rhythm, caused by lack of sleep, working long shifts or working night shifts, leads to a reduction in melatonin secretion. This can disrupt the circadian rhythm, which also affects your hunger or digestion.

Sleep deprivation during the night causes your body to make more ghrelin. Ghrelin is a hormone that is largely produced in the stomach lining. Among other things, it regulates your food intake and has an influence on the glucose metabolism and the insulin secretion.

The hormone leptin is produced in fat tissue. The more fat you have, the higher the concentration of leptin. Leptin is the opponent of ghrelin and also regulates our hunger-feeling of satiety. If we sleep too little, there is a drop in leptin.

Cortisol has a catabolic effect by providing glucose to the body and thus increasing the blood sugar levels. In stressful situations, we release more cortisol, which is why it is also known as the “stress hormone.” It can also influence fat tissue and protein metabolism. During the night, cortisol production drops sharply, and when there is a lack of sleep, the concentration of cortisol increases.

In this article you will find out what effect stress generally has on your body.

The hormone somatotropin, also known as GH, also affects our metabolism and has a anabolic effect. After the onset of deep sleep, GH levels are highest. If there is too little sleep, there may be a lack of somatotropin.

Dopamine is produced in our brain and is also called the happiness hormone. The reason for this is that dopamine gives us a positive emotional experience. If we eat sweets, there is an increased dopamine effect, which is why we like to resort to something sweet when we are stressed or sad. If we don’t sleep enough, cortisol levels increase, causing us to feel more stress. For this reason, we reach for unhealthy foods more often to increase our dopamine levels again. In addition, lack of sleep reduces dopamine levels.

Lack of sleep negatively affects your concentration and your performance. You feel dull which automatically reduces the motivation for daily exercise, and your diet and digestion also suffer from it. This is due to hormonal imbalances which we have summarised for you in the table below. Due to the increased release of the stress hormone cortisol, you also tend to eat more unhealthy foods. Sugar, fat, salty and processed foods activate our reward system, which then causes the release of cortisol and allows us to slowly calm down again. This process tells us that weight gain can be a consequence of poor sleep. In addition, you should always remember: the longer you sleep, the less time you have to eat.

The individual need for sleep depends on several factors:

• Age
• Health status
• Sleep routine or sleep quality

According to many sleep researchers, 7-9 hours of sleep is recommended for an adult. In contrast, babies can need up to 17 hours of sleep. In principle, however, it is important that you feel fit and well rested. After all, your physical and mental wellbeing should be sufficiently supported by sleep. In addition, the quality of sleep plays a decisive role. If you sleep for a long time, but often wake up at night, your sleep is less restful. According to this, short nights in which you sleep through, however, can have a much higher sleep quality. Therefore, individual needs vary from person to person.

Your diet has a big impact on your fitness, your body and your sleep. In order to have a pleasant, peaceful and restful sleep, it is of great importance to pay attention to the food  that you eat in the evening. To give your digestion a little break, opt for a light food diet. Here the length of stay in the stomach plays a crucial role. You will find out what this depends on in the following sections.  

Carbohydrates pass through our gastrointestinal tract the fastest. Fat, on the other hand, is particularly heavy in the stomach and takes the longest time to be metabolized. In the evening, it is also more recommended to eat small portions. This relieves digestion and supports a healthy sleep.

The energy density indicates how many calories are contained in one gram of a food. It results from the content of fat, fibre and water. The lower the energy density, the shorter the length of stay in the stomach, the healthier the sleep. If losing weight is your goal, you should generally pay attention to a low energy-density in food.

The better you have chewed or pre-cooked your food, the less your stomach has to work to break it down. To ensure healthy sleep, you should always take enough time and enjoy your meal. In addition, you should always try to use gentle cooking methods. If possible, your food should not be breaded or deep-fried. These forms of preparation require a lot of fat. Instead, you should rather steam vegetables gently and not fry boiled rice, pasta or potatoes afterwards.

A diet that is easy on the stomach is ideal for supporting your sleep. We have compiled this table to show you which foods are easy to digest and ensure healthy sleep. In general, you should enjoy your last meal three to four hours before falling asleep.

Most demonize them, but we love them: carbohydrates! The reason: Have you ever heard of glycogen stores? Our body stores glucose in the form of glycogen in the muscles and liver. Muscle glycogen is used for fast energy supply, while liver glycogen is, among other things, responsible for maintaining blood sugar levels. In the evening, our glycogen stores are depleted, due to everyday activity or sport. If you then consume carbohydrates, you replenish your stores directly and you will have full energy again the next morning. Many competitive athletes take advantage of this effect on the evening before a competition, this is known as “carbloading”

In addition, the intake of carbohydrates increases the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin affects a variety of emotional processes and has a calming effect, so it provides for relaxation and well-being. Serotonin is also the precursor of melatonin, our already mentioned sleep hormone. The more serotonin we possess, the more melatonin can be formed. Carbohydrates thus favor a healthy sleep.

So that sufficient melatonin can be produced, you should darken your bedroom well. Sleep masks are also a good alternative to keep light rays away. In addition, for a healthy sleep, you should stop using your mobile phone or watching TV at least an hour before going to bed. The light is already enough to limit melatonin production.

In order not to mess up your circadian rhythm, your bedtime shouldn’t deviate more than an hour. At best, this also applies to the weekend.  

In order for your sleep to be as restful as possible, you should definitely lie comfortably. Here your mattress plays a crucial role. It should adapt to your body and support or give way in necessary places. If your mattress is too soft or too hard, you can damage your shoulders, hips and spine – rather unfavourable for a healthy sleep.

While you are sleeping, your neck should be straight and relaxed. The best way to achieve this is to have only your head on the pillow and your shoulders on the mattress. For this position, a rectangular, elongated pillow is best suited for sleeping.

In order to reduce excess cortisol, it is recommended to perform relaxation exercises, meditation or even autogenic training for healthy sleep.  Regular exercise will also reduce your stress levels. However, you should do this at least two hours before going to bed.

For a healthy sleep, your sleeping place should be your personal oasis of well-being. In order for your head to really switch off, you should not study or eat in your bed, but really just sleep. In addition, you should regularly ventilate your bedroom.  According to experts, the optimal sleeping temperature is 18°C.

If you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you can also take magnesium or inositol supplements. These nutrients are needed to produce the sleep hormone melatonin and help you lose weight while you sleep.

Your rest periods are very important for you and your body. During your bedtime, important processes take place in the body so that you are fit and well rested the next day. Especially with the desire to lose weight, it is of great importance to give your body enough rest to actively burn fat and build muscle during sleep. During the day, a healthy sleep will reward you with a balanced feeling of hunger and satiety.