Better Sleep
INFO
Diet aside, sleeping well is crucial for losing weight, shedding fat, and boosting your general health and well-being. LEAN Keto has a major focus on improving sleep and developing better sleeping habits.
Four major reasons why sleep is crucial for success on your LEAN Keto journey
Sleep is vital, which we all know. Few of us, however, know just how vital it really is. We tend to underestimate the influence bad sleep can have on our health and well-being. Just consider the following facts:
Bad sleep increases obesity risk. A meta-analysis based on 604,509 adults found that bad sleepers have a 55% higher chance of becoming obese. The reason is that sleep deprivation changes brain chemistry. For example, it reduces satiating hormones such as leptin (the hormone that signals that you are full while eating) while increasing the hunger hormone ghrelin (the hormone that signal that you’re hungry and it is time to eat), as a result of which hunger and food intake increases.[
Bad sleep inhibits fat burning and causes muscle loss. In one study, sleeping 40 minutes less from Monday to Friday shifted the ratio of lean to fat mass loss from 80% fat mass to 20% fat mass. In another study, sleeping 5.5 hours instead of 7.5 hours a day decreased the proportion of weight lost as fat by 55% while increasing fat-free mass loss by 60%.
Bad sleep aggravates insulin sensitivity and diabetes. It can cause cells to become insulin-resistant, which is a precursor of type 2 diabetes and weight gain. One study found that allowing men to sleep for only four hours a night for six subsequent nights reduced the ability to lower blood sugar levels by 40%.
Also, if you do not get enough high-quality sleep, you run a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In case you are already affected by that condition, better sleep may help you reverse it.
Bad sleep impairs brain functions. It affects various aspects of brain function, such as concentration, cognition, and productivity. Research has shown that short sleep can hurt some brain functions to a similar degree as alcohol intoxication does. These adverse effects also make it harder to stay on track with your diet, increasing the risk of junk food over-consumption and, therefore, fat gain.
These are just four of the many reasons why getting enough high-quality sleep is crucial, not only for your health and well-being but also your weight and appearance. Bad sleep and sleeping habits are often the overlooked stumbling blocks to losing weight and maintaining good health.