Sleep & Weight Loss: What is the sleep connection?

The relationship between the amount and quality of your sleep may be a critical component to the ultimate success you achieve in losing excess fat stores and maintaining a healthy state of leanness. Conversely, lack of sleep (in quantity and/or quality) may be a leading cause in your weight gain or inability to lose weight. Over the last few years, health researchers have confirmed what many have surmised for some time, the correlation between sleep and body composition.  

The ideal amount of sleep cannot be narrowed down to a single specific amount of time, but rather a range of time, believed to be between 6.5-8.5 hours. Additionally, the “quality” of sleep is an integral part of the equation. The quality of sleep is defined by “sleep cycles”, with each cycle containing 5 stages measured by brain wave activity. Each cycle is approximately 90-110 minutes in duration.

          The stages are:

(1)  Drowsiness signals the change from awake to light sleep. Duration is 5-10 minutes.

(2)  Sleep onset, disengagement from surroundings, body temperature begins to drop. Brain wave activity begins to slow. Duration is 45-55 minutes, the longest of the cycles.

(3)  The beginning of restorative sleep and the appearance of very slow brain waves (delta waves). Blood pressure begins to drop, skeletal muscle begins to lose tension. Disorientation occurs if awakened during stage 3 and stage 4. Duration is 5-10 minutes.

(4)  The deepest state in the sleep cycle. Skeletal muscle completely relaxes, very shallow breathing and lowest blood pressure readings. Coupled with stage 3, necessary for full restorative sleep. Tissue repair & Growth Hormone release occur. Immune system is strengthened. Duration is 10-20 minutes.

(5)  REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. The dream state. Heart rate and blood pressure elevate, some limb movement may occur. This stage is often mistakenly referred to as the restorative stage. It is not. Depending on the nature and intensity of the dream, one may be totally relaxed, or fighting giant monster snakes! It is true that one must get to REM sleep to begin a new sleep cycle. Initial REM phase lasts 10 minutes with each successive cycle typically lasting longer.

During the sleep cycle, the hormones leptin and grehlin are regulated. These hormones control apetite, and may explain the urge to overeat in those with chronic sleep deprivation. Additionally, cortisol, the hormone that is responsible for achieving a state of alertness after sleeping, dips as night falls and slowly increases as we pass through the sleep stages. When sleep deprived, cortisol production may increase. Over-production of cortisol is associated with visceral fat, that which is stored around the organs.

Additionally, when sleep is inadequate, the odds are that you will either have a sluggish workout or do what I do, skip the session entirely. The amount of caffeine that I would require to do justice to a serious strength training session is border-line dangerous when I am sleep-deprived, so I put it off for a more energetic day.

Potential Causes of Inadequate Sleep

Some of the more common causes of sleep deprivation are:

1. Too much, or hyper-sensitivity to, stimulants. The afore-mentioned caffeine is the most common offender. This will vary greatly between individuals in how much is too much.
2. Too much alcohol. Alcohol is a depressant that may help with falling asleep, but has a “rebound” effect as it clears the system that may result in waking, then difficulty in returning to the sleep state. Additionally, arising to urinate does not help.
3. Medications. This covers a wide range of physiologic effects, from increased frequency of urination to the stimulant effect most decongestants produce.

Scientists and health-care providers have known for ages the importance in adequate sleep. We now know this is vitally important to virtually every health aspect  of achieving proper wellness, including the ability attain and maintain your ideal body weight.

2016 Spring Intern: Alex Jackson