Insomnia and Weight Gain

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The University of California has found that lack of sleep and food cravings are linked. Insomnia can lead to weight gain as it disrupts the levels of hunger hormones, making you tired and causing you to reach for high calorie foods.

Weightmatters’ founder James Lamper explains the mechanics behind insomnia and weight gain: “Lack of sleep affects the paraysympathetic nervous system resulting in a drop of the hormone leptin, which promotes the release of fat from fat cells. This means we don’t use fat as a fuel source”. When hormone levels are unbalanced due to sleep deprivation, you end up getting a spike of insulin at night and you wake up with low blood sugar levels in the morning. This makes you feel lethargic and constantly hungry during the day.

James also warns against consuming too much alcohol as it can disrupt sleeping patterns and hormones making you feel tired and craving junk food. Being overweight also works against having a good night’s sleep so managing your weight can also help with insomnia.

Studies have found that just one week of sleep deprivation, defined as having less than four hours’ sleep, causes an increase of carbohydrate consumption by 40%.

Source: The People, article by Shannon Kyle http://www.thefreelibrary.com/More+Sleep!+Struggling+to+sleep+leaves+us+exhausted+the+next+day+-…-a0342194604