Weight Loss Fact: Not Enough Sleep For Many Root Cause Of Weight Gain

Overeating And Sleep

Weight loss is even more difficult if you don’t sleep enough. Leptin is one of two hormones that signal the brain when you’ve eaten enough. When you’ve eaten enough, leptin tells your brain to shut off hunger and make you feel full. Not sleeping enough lowers your level of leptin. So the connection between weight loss and the hormone leptin is that when you don’t sleep enough leptin level is low, making weight loss is difficult because more food than normal is needed to feel full and satisfied, not feeling satisfied after a normal size meal causes overeating, preventing weight loss. Less than 7 hours of sleep a day decreases your level of leptin, making weight loss much more difficult.

More Overeating From Too Little Sleep

Less than 7 hours of sleep is also an appetite stimulant. Ghrelin is a hormone that stimulates appetite and hunger. Less than 7 hours of sleep increases the level of the hormone ghrelin.

Better Sleep

Potassium deficiency and magnesium deficiency are common causes of insomnia. A significant magnesium deficiency can even cause a potassium deficiency, causing insomnia. A 2004 study of 1,024 people found that people who slept less than 8 hours had a higher BMI (body mass index).