Quality sleep helps you shed extra pounds

Quality sleep is an important part of weight loss programs and should be factored into your diet and exercise plan.

Canadian scientists have received reliable data that poor quality sleep contributes to excess weight gain. Lack of rest stimulates the consumption of more food and also leads to an increase in appetite-regulating hormones.

"The solution to excess weight is not just 'eat less, move and sleep more,'" said Dr. Jean-Philippe Chapou of the Children's Hospital of the Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa and Dr. Angelo Tremblay of Laval University in Quebec. They believe that good sleep should be part of a new lifestyle, although traditionally doctors focus only on diet and physical activity.

Researchers have found that sleep duration and quality influence fat loss in people participating in weight loss programs. Scientists cite data from a recent study conducted among overweight adults in Canada. Participants were divided into groups based on sleep duration: 5.5 hours and 8.5 hours daily for two weeks.

At the same time, all participants were limited in daily food intake by 680 kilocalories. Compared to participants who slept 8.5 hours per night, those who slept only 5.5 hours lost 55% less body fat and 60% more lean body mass. They also had less positive changes in metabolic hormone levels.

Despite a loss of about three kilograms of weight during treatment in each group, the total loss in energy intake was twice as high (1039 kilocalories) among those who slept 8.5 hours a night compared to those who slept only 5.5 hours ( 537 kilocalories). This means that lack of sleep causes the body to conserve energy-useful fat.

In addition, people who experienced sleep deprivation suffered from hunger due to high levels of the hormone ghrelin. This hormone can delay the burning of fat, and the feeling of hunger contributes to diet disruption, which may explain the failure of many weight loss programs.

As a result of the study, the Obesity and Weight Network of Canada included adequate sleep in a new guideline for therapists working with these patients.

Source: medvesti.com