How Good Sleep Can Promote A Healthy Weight + 5 Tips To Help You Get It

You might not even realize it, but there's a direct correlation between how well you slept last night and your appetite today, and the research to back up this claim is abundant. For example, according to a randomized critical trial1 published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal, when 80 adults with habitual sleep of fewer than 6.5 hours per night extended their bedtime to 8.5 hours of sleep per night, their energy levels improved, and therefore their bodies required less food to keep them energized throughout the day.

Likewise, a study2 published in the International Journal of Obesity monitoring the sleep habits and weight of 125 adults over the course of a year found that the more quality sleep you clock every night, the healthier your weight and body fat percentage will be overall.

It all comes down to your circadian rhythm and how a poor sleep cycle can directly affect your hunger hormones. According to sleep psychologist and former adviser to Pluto Pillow, Samina Ahmed Jauregui, PsyD, your circadian rhythm not only determines your sleep-wake cycle but also regulates other biological functions, such as your body temperature, energy levels, and mealtimes.

"One of the many functions of sleep includes the regulations of hormones including [those] associated with hunger, appetite suppression, and food choices," Jauregui tells mbg. Namely, leptin, which tells the body it's full, and ghrelin, which stimulates appetite. Not getting enough quality shut-eye throws these hunger hormones out of whack.

"[When we aren't sleeping well or enough], we end up with less leptin and more ghrelin," says sleep expert Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., and it's an unfortunate combination for anyone looking to reach their body's healthiest weight. This is because suboptimal sleep quality can either upregulate appetite or increase it, potentially diminishing a person's willpower, leading them to eat more, Breus tells mbg. Poor sleep quality will also negatively affect a person's energy levels in such a way that, according to Breus, they'll be less likely to engage in physical activity, leading to unwanted weight gain.

Among the most common sleep disrupters, like loud noises and late-night snacks loaded with sugar, stress lands at the top of the list. To reduce tossing and turning, Jauregui recommends addressing any stress you might be experiencing during the day, as opposed to trying to manage it all at night.