Sleep more and weigh less. Doesn’t that sound fantastic? All you have to do is sleep and you’ll lose weight? Well that’s not the entire truth but let’s talk about it for a bit. Sleep is nutrition to our brains so if you deprive your body of sleep your brain will malfunction. How is that possible? Let me explain.
ACTIVITY LEVEL
If you haven’t had enough sleep you’ll most likely not be as active because your energy tank is empty. This will affect your workouts and overall day which will reduce the amount of calories burnt through activities. You need to have a very strong mindset to go through a HIIT with only 4 hours of sleep in the tank. Imagine a plane with a gas tank half full. Doesn’t sound good right?
IMPULSE CONTROL
On an average day you probably have the will power to say no to chocolate and burgers and fries but when your brain is tired you’re doomed. Sleep deprivation dulls activity in the frontal lobe which handles the decision-making and impulse control. So as you can imagine your guard is down when it comes to “IMPULSE FRIDGE RAIDS”. It’s similar to being drunk which I’m sure you have experienced before.
NO MORE BURNING FAT
When you don’t get enough sleep your body produces cortisol which tells the body to hold on to fat as a source of energy. That’s not what we want. Even worse your body will have a harder time to react to insulin. This is especially bad because if your body can’t properly process the sugar, starch and fat in your bloodstream you are more likely to store the energy as additional fat.
Alright now that we know why sleep deprivation is bad let’s make sure we understand how to prevent it.
- Make sure to get between 6-8hours of sleep on a daily basis. Ideally go to bed at the same time even on weekends. We are creatures of habits so act like it and create a schedule.
- Now the hard part. Don’t look at your phone before you go to bed. I KNOW!! It’s not impossible though. Start reading a book for 15 min before you go to bed and see how you feel.
- Set the temperature in your bedroom to 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit. I’ll explain in another blog entry why this important!
- Don’t eat heavy meals before you go to bed.
Try it for the next week and see how it changes your overall energy and fitness level!
