Catch Your ZZZ’s, Please!

You may roll your eyes at this, or you may raise your hands in celebration. Regardless of how you feel about the concept, it is proven that adequate sleep is necessary for maintaining a healthy weight! According to the National Sleep Institute, adults need an average of 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Without adequate sleep, our bodies increase production of a stress hormone called cortisol. Increased cortisol is associated with retention of abdominal fat, which is strongly associated with a number of negative health outcomes. Sleep is also the time during which our bodies purge a variety of toxins and waste products. Retention of such compounds makes weight loss more difficult. This is in addition to sleep deprivation revoking our energy and desire to exercise, making it exponentially more difficult to lose weight. Finally, inadequate sleep causes decreased human growth hormone (HGH) activity and glycogen synthesis, both of which function to impede weight loss (among numerous other negative health effects).

One of the more common “justifications” for not getting enough sleep is being too busy. If you have adopted this viewpoint, I challenge you to change your mindset based on the following points of logic:

1.Adequate sleep provides ample energy, allowing you to get things done more efficiently. Getting things done more efficiently obviously decreases the time it takes to get through your to-do list, in turn making time for you to get more rest.

2.Exercise also increases energy. If you get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night, you will have the energy it takes to workout, thus further improving your efficiency and reducing the time it takes to complete your daily task list.

So tell me this, why would you not want to a) get enough sleep b) have enough energy to exercise regularly and c) still complete your to-do list? If you have a good reason, please feel free to let a sista know. 😊