Overweight-Bad Dreams: There’s a Link to Sleep?

Do you feel some degree of stress about the pandemic, work, or family, then it’s normal for those types of themes to appear in our dream content. Many of us do not get enough sleep anyway, but adding bad dreams makes it even harder. Lack of sleep could be a factor in that extra 10 to 15lb. and we have been sheltered at home gaining more weight to boot.
Scientists have discovered people who sleep less tend to weigh more. Over the last two decades, people have been sleeping less, with 30% of adults have been sleeping less than 6 hours per night.
Are you sleeping less and fighting the battle at the scale?
The relationship is not entirely clear. Sleep may affect body weight in several different ways. Research suggests that important hormones that regulate appetite are associated with our sleep cycles. When getting adequate sleep, approximately 7-8 hours per night, these hormones appear to rise and fall in the normal manner.
When sleep is less, the hormone levels are altered, leading to an increase in appetite.
There is also a question of whether excessive sleepiness affects your metabolic rate. It’s possible that over time, the body responds to the lack of sleep by decreasing your metabolic rate, making it easier to gain weight.
The relationship between body weight and sleep goes both ways as well.
So if you are not getting a good night’s sleep (think quantity AND quality), you can use many of the skills you are learning related to your diet and exercise program to get on the right track.
Just as you should be eating at regular intervals, you need to have a regular bedtime and wake time.
Eating at a regular interval happens best when you plan. Prepare, develop a routine that puts you in the right frame of mind to get a good, restful sleep. Sleep more, eat less, and lose weight!
For a Free Consultation and Answers to your weight loss questions call Etcetera Medical today: 661-259-8884.