The 5 Benefits of SLEEP for Women Who Want to Lose-Weight

As a Weight Loss Coach  I am always telling my clients that getting enough sleep is key for our physical and mental wellbeing, but few people understand the importance of maintaining a consistent sleep schedule when it comes to losing weight.

You see, getting enough sleep every night is crucial for weight loss as well as for reducing stress levels, improving overall health, and helping you stay productive and alert. 

Here’s what you need to know about why it's so important for you when losing weight to make sure that you’re getting quality rest each night:

Sleep plays a crucial role in weight loss for several reasons:

1. Sleep deprivation can disrupt the balance of hormones that regulate hunger and fullness, such as ghrelin and leptin. When you don't get enough sleep, ghrelin levels increase, stimulating appetite, while leptin levels decrease, reducing feelings of fullness. This hormonal imbalance can lead to increased food cravings and overeating.

2. Lack of sleep can negatively impact your metabolism. It can reduce your resting metabolic rate, which is the number of calories your body burns at rest. A slower metabolism makes it more difficult to create a calorie deficit and lose weight.

3. Sleep deprivation can leave you feeling tired, fatigued, and lacking energy. This can make it harder to find the motivation to engage in physical activity and stick to a healthy eating plan, hindering weight loss efforts.

4. During sleep, your body repairs and rebuilds muscle tissue. Adequate sleep is essential for muscle recovery after exercise, which is important for building lean muscle mass. Having more muscle can increase your metabolism and help with weight loss.

5. Lack of sleep can increase stress levels and make it harder to manage stress effectively. Elevated stress levels can lead to emotional eating and cravings for unhealthy foods, sabotaging weight loss efforts.

If you are aiming for weight loss, aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night.

Establish a consistent sleep schedule, create a relaxing bedtime routine, and create a sleep-friendly environment to promote better sleep hygiene.

Sleep is also beneficial for managing stress levels - and stress is something you want to keep in check when it comes to losing weight.

If you don't get enough sleep or have an irregular sleeping pattern then this can contribute to higher levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) in the body.

Too much cortisol can then lead to other health issues like increased blood pressure, a weakened immune system and weight gain.  A lack of sleep can also carry over into other areas of life such as work performance or personal relationships.

Here are five key tips I give my clients to help establishing a regular sleep pattern:

1. Set up an evening routine – Go to bed at the same time every night; sleep in a darkened room with blackout blinds if possible; drink a night-time herbal tea or a cup of cocoa with your favourite plant-based milk.
2. Avoid caffeine late in the day –  Switch from coffee to green tea. Green tea has approximately 25 mg of caffeine per cup compared to coffee’s 75-150 mg per cup. • Ginseng can help keep you in balance during caffeine withdrawal. Caffeine constricts blood vessels and ginseng dilates them. Be sure to take ginseng BEFORE the onset of a headache though and follow label directions. • Consider switching to herbal teas such as dandelion tea. This tastes like coffee, but also adds liver cleansing benefits. • Try coffee alternatives, like Dandy Blend or Teeccino (made with barley but has no detectable amount of gluten).
3. Take naps sparingly –  up to 20 minutes no longer.  We are all different but taking a nap could affect your sleep at night-time, it's a bit of trial and error, to get it right.
4. Avoid alcohol too close to bedtime – drinking alcohol can disturb your sleep so try and keep at a minimum.
5. Keep electronics out of the bedroom – and avoid using a screen or watching a screen at least an hour before bedtime. I take all of my electronics to another room at night.

Can you now see how establishing and sticking to a consistent sleep schedule is essential for anyone looking to lose weight?

When you get a good night’s rest, every night, the positive health impacts ripple out across your whole life! So let’s prioritise sleep from tonight on!

If you’re ready to finally lose weight permanently and avoid the diet rollercoaster, feel free to book in a discovery call to learn more about how my program the Weight-Loss Breakthrough 90 Day Intensive can help you!

For more tips on Weight-Loss come follow me on Instagram at @shirleywellnesscoach.