Sleepless Nights Can Cause You to Gain Weight
Changed your diet?
Exercising regularly?
But when you look at the scales the numbers keep going up?
You’re ready to throw your hands up and grab a pizza and sit on the couch binging on your favorite show.
Stubborn weight gain is just that – stubborn.
You can drink all the water your body can hold, eat salads three times a day, and exercise for hours, without seeing any success when you’re fighting against stubborn weight.
What I’ve discovered is that stubborn weight may be due to the quality of your sleep.
When your weight won’t budge, take time to reflect on your sleep patterns. Are you getting enough sleep? Do you toss and turn all through the night? Do you wake up after a few hours, unable to fall back to sleep?
If so, you are experiencing poor quality sleep.
Why should your sleep affect your weight?
Let’s find out.
The Vicious Cycle of Sleeplessness
Your body requires sleep and when you lose as little as 30 minutes a day, your body begins the cycle of weight gain.
You’re busy all day, which drains your body of needed nutrients and energy. It’s during your sleep cycle that your body slows down to begin the restorative process from the day’s activities. Every cell and organ benefits from sleep.
It’s when your sleep cycle is messed up that your body is not able to restore itself.
This causes the stress hormone cortisol to build up within your body. The higher your cortisol levels, the greater your appetite.
To satisfy your appetite, you’re drawn to simple carbs – sugar, to keep your energy levels up.
Lack of sleep creates a greater appetite, which causes you to gain weight, which causes you to lose more sleep.
A vicious weight gain cycle.
When your body operates in this cycle for a long period of time, your blood glucose levels begin to increase which causes you to develop high blood sugar problems.
Your insulin is designed to help your body absorb glucose from your blood and use it for energy. When your blood sugar is consistently high, your insulin is not able to do its job. Another part of the vicious cycle caused by poor sleep.
Creating a Better Sleep Cycle
When your stubborn weight gain is due to a poor sleep cycle, you may want to take steps to create a better sleep cycle for yourself.
- Develop a regular bedtime routine,
- Go to bed at the same time each night,
- Turn off all electronics 30 minutes before bedtime,
- De-clutter your bedroom,
- Keep your bedroom temperature cool, not cold,
- Avoid caffeine six hours prior to bedtime,
- Enjoy a warm cup of sleepy time tea before bedtime.
Improving your sleep benefits you both physically and emotionally. Take the first step today to sleep better tonight.
Why not try an cup of warm, comforting tea right before bed – every little bit helps, right?
Here’s an easy DIY Sleepy Time Herbal Tea Blend recipe you can make in batches.
DIY Sleepy Time Herbal Tea Blend
Ingredients
3 parts dried chamomile
2 parts each: dried peppermint and dried lemon balm
1 part each: dried lavender and dried passionflower
1/4 part valerian root (it is important to only add this much valerian root)
Fresh, filtered water
Preparation
While heating water on the stove or in an electric kettle (up to 160 degrees F is optimal for herbal tea), lightly mix herbs together in a bowl.
Place up to 1 Tb of herbal tea mixture into a tea infuser ball.
Place infuser into your fave mug, and fill it with hot, but not boiled water.
Let your tea steep for up to 5 minutes (but at least 2 mins) before removing the infuser ball.
Save any extra dry tea blend in an airtight container, and store it in a cool, dark, dry place. Will keep fresh for several weeks.
Enjoy your cup of warm DIY Sleepytime Tea, and get more quality zzz’s!