Introduction

Did you know that sleep is not only essential for a healthy body, but also a well-functioning brain and an efficient metabolism? That’s right! You’ll be amazed at how many benefits of good sleep go beyond just feeling rested.

Insufficient sleep is a known risk factor for obesity and metabolic disease.

• Insufficient sleep is a known risk factor for obesity and metabolic disease.
• Sleep deprivation has been linked to obesity, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, diabetes mellitus type 2 and depression.
• It also affects your moods by causing anxiety or depression in some people.

Poor sleep results in increased hunger and decreased satiety.

Sleep deprivation results in increased hunger and decreased satiety. This is because while you’re sleeping, your body releases the hormones ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is responsible for stimulating appetite, while leptin tells you when to stop eating. When you don’t get enough sleep, these hormones can become imbalanced–which may cause you to overeat or skip breakfast altogether.

If you find yourself feeling hungry more often than usual after a night of poor sleep (or worse yet–snacking on junk food), try these tips:

• Eat small meals throughout the day rather than three large ones at once. Your body will have time to digest each one before its next round of nutrients hits your stomach!
• Keep healthy snacks on hand so that when hunger strikes unexpectedly (like between meetings at work), there’ll be something healthy available instead of cookies from the break room vending machine!

Sleep deprivation can cause hormonal changes that promote weight gain.

Sleep deprivation can cause hormonal changes that promote weight gain. Sleep deprivation increases ghrelin levels and decreases leptin levels. Ghrelin is the hunger hormone, while leptin is the satiety hormone; increased ghrelin and decreased leptin make you hungrier and less satisfied after eating, which means that you’re likely to eat more than you need over time (1). A 2016 study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that sleep-deprived participants experienced an increase in their blood glucose levels–a sign of insulin resistance–after eating compared to those who had gotten enough rest (2). This may be because sleep deprivation affects insulin sensitivity, which contributes to an increased risk for type 2 diabetes (3).

Sleep deprivation slows metabolism, which further increases your risk of weight gain.

Sleep deprivation can cause hormonal changes that promote weight gain. When you’re short on sleep, your body produces less leptin, a hormone that helps regulate appetite and energy expenditure. This can lead to increased hunger and cravings for carbohydrates as well as reduced energy levels.

Sleep deprivation slows metabolism, which further increases your risk of weight gain. Research shows that people who get less than six hours of sleep per night have higher levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) than those who get enough rest; this is problematic because cortisol promotes fat storage in the abdomen area by increasing insulin resistance (which leads to higher blood sugar levels), causing the body to hang onto fat instead of burning it off as fuel for daily activities like exercise or workdays out in the field at an outdoor job site where there’s no electricity available nearby!

Without proper amounts of quality shut-eye each night–at least seven hours total if possible–you’ll find yourself reaching for snacks more often throughout each day due to increased hunger pangs caused by low leptin levels combined with increased cortisol production due “stress eating” behaviors too often experienced during times when something unexpected happens unexpectedly during normal waking hours such as getting stuck behind traffic jams while driving home after work each evening because everyone else thinks 4 pm should be considered rush hour traffic but not necessarily so much so every single day every single month throughout every single year without fail regardless how many times we try explaining why this isn’t true either way here goes nothing again anyways back on topic

Sleep deprivation increases cortisol levels, which promotes fat storage.

Cortisol is a stress hormone that helps you cope with stressful situations. When you’re awake, cortisol levels increase in response to stress and decrease at night. This means that when you’re sleep deprived (and therefore more stressed), your body produces more cortisol than usual.

Cortisol promotes fat storage in order to prepare for potential famine–a helpful evolutionary adaptation when food was scarce or unpredictable. Unfortunately for us today, however, this mechanism still kicks into gear when we don’t have enough sleep! In fact, research shows that people who get less than six hours of shut-eye per night experience higher levels of morning hunger than those who get eight hours or more!

Sleep-deprived individuals are at a higher risk of overeating in response to stress and anxiety/depression symptoms.

Sleep deprivation can lead to anxiety and depression. As we discussed above, sleep deprivation is a risk factor for weight gain. But it’s also known to cause stress and anxiety, which in turn leads to overeating. This is especially true when you’re already prone to emotional eating habits–and many people are!

In fact, one study found that when individuals were deprived of just two hours of sleep per night over the course of two weeks (which corresponds with what most adults get on average), they reported feeling more stressed than those who got eight hours each night.[8] Another study showed that participants who slept less than seven hours per night had higher levels of cortisol (the stress hormone) than those who slept longer.[9]

Getting enough sleep can help prevent obesity and metabolic disease.

You may be wondering, “How can sleep deprivation make me fat?” The answer is pretty simple. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body is less able to process food efficiently. This means that the calories you consume are more likely to be stored as fat instead of being used for energy.

Sleep deprivation also increases hunger and decreases satiety (the feeling of fullness). So even if you’re not eating more than usual when sleep deprived, those extra calories can add up over time because they won’t be burned off by exercise or other activities like they normally would be with adequate restful nights’ rest!

Another factor contributing to weight gain during periods of insufficient rest is that metabolism slows down when we’re fatigued–and this means our bodies burn fewer calories during the day than usual. This makes it harder for us not only lose weight but also maintain our current weight once achieved!

Conclusion

Getting enough sleep is an important part of maintaining a healthy weight. It can help prevent metabolic disease and promote weight loss, which means that it’s worth making sure that you’re getting enough sleep each night!