Summer is coming, is it reliable to lose weight by sleeping?

Summer is coming, and losing weight is becoming a trend instead of "hiding fat". Various weight loss tips such as eating less and more often, fitness and weight loss, and acupuncture are all the rage on the Internet, and various popular and unconventional weight loss methods are emerging one after another. The difficulty of losing weight through exercise is obvious to all, and the pain of losing weight through dieting is always there. A research result from the Journal of the American Medical Association-Internal Medicine has brought good news to the majority of people who want to lose weight. So is the research that "sleeping an extra hour a day can help you lose weight" really credible? Can you really lose weight by sleeping?

Sleeping to lose weight and calorie intake

There is a very interesting group of studies on the relationship between sleep and obesity. In the United States, with the increase of obesity on the streets, one-third of Americans admit that they sleep less than 7 hours a night. When the trend of insufficient sleep and obesity increases in sync, people begin to pay more attention to sleep and weight. On the one hand, a large number of studies have shown that less than 7 hours of sleep will lead to weight gain, and on the other hand, experiments have found that when the sleep time of volunteers is restricted, their daily calorie consumption changes very little, but the daily calorie intake increases by 250 to 350 kcal. Some people interpret this as people who lack sleep tend to have hyperappetite and are very motivated to "eat", but due to the fatigue of lack of sleep, they cannot do enough physical exercise, so their weight increases day by day.

Lack of sleep can lead to weight gain, so scientists have turned their attention to whether adequate sleep can help people lose weight. The research team led by Esra Tasari, director of the Sleep Center at the University of Chicago, conducted such a long-lasting and highly referenceable experiment. They carefully selected 80 adults from volunteers with different physiology and psychology to participate in a two-week experiment. They usually sleep less than 6.5 hours a night. But in the experiment, their sleep time increased by an average of 1.2 hours per night. In this way, these people reduced their calorie intake by an average of 270 calories per day. Therefore, the researchers said that if the experimental time is extended from 2 weeks to 3 years under reasonable conditions and adequate sleep is maintained, even if you sleep lying down, you can lose 12 kilograms.

Sleeping, weight loss and hormone secretion

Good sleep can help you lose weight, not only because you consume fewer calories, but another major factor is that good sleep can produce weight loss hormones such as growth hormone and serotonin.

Growth hormone is one of the lipolysis hormones. When its secretion increases, human fat is easier to burn. At the same time, because protein synthesis and growth hormone are closely related, the secretion of growth hormone can effectively promote the body's basal metabolism. Serotonin, a "happy hormone", will make people's body and mind more happy and full of energy, so the natural calorie consumption will be greater. Studies have shown that people with depression are more likely to gain weight because the serotonin content of patients with depression is lower. Adequate sleep can secrete enough weight loss hormones, while lack of sleep will lead to an increase in the secretion of ghrelin, a hormone that regulates a person's appetite. If it is secreted too much, the appetite will increase, which is not conducive to weight loss.

So the question is, when is the hormone that helps with weight loss secreted? 10 pm to 2 am the next day is the golden time for growth hormone secretion, so going to bed early and getting up early is indeed the most labor-saving way to lose weight. Growth hormone is also secreted after exercise, which shows the weight loss effect of "moving your legs". The human body's biological clock has a 24-hour cycle, and the secretion of hormones also follows this rule. When sleeping at night, the same amount of sleep hormone and weight loss hormone are secreted, so a good and sufficient sleep lays a good foundation for a good state the next day.

How to lose weight through scientific sleep

Since so many studies have proven that adequate sleep can indeed help lose weight, how can we use this method of "losing weight while lying down"? Do you only need to lie down to lose weight while sleeping? No no no, if you want to lose weight while sleeping, you must remember these points. First of all, pay attention to the first 3 hours after falling asleep, which is also the peak period of hormone secretion. During this period, in a comfortable sleeping environment, entering a deep sleep state is a big step towards high-quality sleep. Secondly, maintain a reasonable sleep time. Sleeping habits vary from person to person. Staying up all night and sleeping for a long time are obviously unreasonable. It is said that people who sleep for more than 7 hours are less likely to gain weight. Sufficient and reasonable sleep time is an element of high-quality sleep. At the same time, remember that you must not go to bed as soon as you are full in order to pursue the length of sleep time. Sleeping with a full stomach may affect the quality of sleep. Finally, the night is when the parasympathetic nerves are active, and it is also the time when the intestines are active. A kind of probiotics called "slim bacteria" living in the intestines will also increase. It is really not fooling people to say that high-quality sleep can help lose weight. If you don't believe it, start trying it today.

Sitting for long periods of time, staying up late to surf the Internet, not liking to exercise, loving to eat high-calorie foods... The fast-paced modern life is leading us into the quagmire of insufficient sleep, and obesity is also emerging. For the sake of health and happiness in life, don't let early to bed and early to rise become a slogan. You can get enough sleep and lose weight at the same time, so why not do it?