Sleep - An Easy Way To Manage Weight

Along with protein, vitamins, minerals, sleep is a vital nutrient for your body. Before you think we’ve lost our minds, read on!

From immunity to mental health and gorgeous skin, getting some quality shut-eye plays a huge role in your health (no wonder sleeping beauty was a princess!). Additionally, the benefits of sound sleep go far beyond a healthy body. It is, perhaps, the easiest way of losing and managing weight along with eating right and exercising.

Poor sleep can alter the way your body responds to food. For starters, your appetite increases. You lean on more coffee to get moving. You’re too tired to cook so you just order something. And exercising is not even on your mind.

Here we talk about how sleep helps keep your waist in shape (no, we don’t mean the round kind).

Hungry And How!

Studies suggest that sleep-deprived people are more likely to have an increased appetite. This is associated with the two hunger hormones, namely – ghrelin and leptin. On one hand, ghrelin signals you to feel hungry, on the other hand, leptin suppresses hunger .

When you do not get adequate sleep, your body produces greater amounts of ghrelin and lesser amounts of leptin, making you feel more hungry. In fact, research performed on over 1,000 people found that people who slept for shorter durations had 14.9% higher ghrelin levels and 15.5% lower leptin levels than those who got adequate sleep . Next time you reach for those chips late at night, maybe grab a pillow instead.

Sweet Dreams vs Sweet Food

People who do not get enough sleep tend to consume more calories. Studies performed on 12 men, found that when participants were allowed to sleep for only four hours per day, they ate an average of 559 more calories the next day, compared to when they were allowed eight hours of sleep .

These extra calories may be related to increased appetite and poor food choices, as mentioned above. However, it may also be due to an increase in the time spent awake and available to eat. Additionally, poor sleep may also affect your ability to control portion sizes, thereby making you eat more than you would normally .

Burning Calories While Resting

Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the number of calories you burn when you’re at rest. Among other factors, it is affected by age, weight, height, sex, and muscle mass.

Research has shown that sleep deprivation may be associated with lowering your RMR. In one study, 15 men were asked to be awake for 24 hours. Later, it was found that the RMR of these participants was 5% lower than after a normal night’s rest. Additionally, their metabolic rate after meals was 20% lower than normal .

Furthermore, poor sleep may also be responsible for causing muscle loss. Muscle burns more calories at rest as compared to fat, so muscle loss leads to a decrease in resting metabolic rate.

A research performed on 10 overweight adults, who were allowed either 8.5 or 5.5 hours of sleep per day, found that adults who slept for only 5.5 hours lost less weight as compared to adults who slept longer .

The Lows Of Insulin

Insulin is a hormone that maintains the blood sugar levels in the body. According to research performed on 11 men who were allowed only four hours of sleep for six nights, it was found that their body’s ability to lower the blood sugar levels decreased by 40%. This suggests that poor sleep may cause cells to become insulin resistant .

It’s Not Anxiety, It’s Sleep Deprivation

Among the many appalling effects of poor sleep on your body, the worst yet is probably its effect on mental health. Less sleep has a direct impact on your mental health, which may manifest in terms of binge eating, making bad food choices, cranky and irritable mood, lesser socialization and so on.

Great Tips For A Good Night Sleep

In today’s day and age, when we are surrounded by gadgets and screens 24X7, you may find it a little difficult to shut everything down and go to bed. So, here we have compiled a list of simple tips for you to get better sleep at night .

• Switch off all electronics such as computers, cell phones, and TV at least an hour before bedtime.
• Save your bedroom only for sleep. Avoid working or binge-watching series in your room and simply think of it as a place of relaxation.
• Create and maintain your bedtime rituals. Opt for a warm bath, meditation, or reading instead of stressing on things that can wait until morning.
• Stick to your routine. Make sure you sleep and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends, to avoid unnecessary stress.
• Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. Ensure that you do not consume heavy meals or alcohol right before bed as these foods tend to cause heartburn, and thereby disrupt your sleep schedule. Additionally, steer clear of soda, tea, coffee, and chocolate after 2 p.m since the caffeine present in them acts as a stimulant making it difficult for you to fall asleep.
• Turn off the lights. Darkness signals your body to release the natural sleep hormone melatonin, whereas light suppresses it.
• Make sure your bed is comfortable. Keep your room cool and keep the noise down.
• Opt for a high quality, bioavailable melatonin supplement. Setu Melatonin are natural, non-addictive orally dissolving strips that are formulated using the patented ThinOral technology that enables quick and efficient melatonin delivery giving you a much-needed nudge to fall asleep. All you need to do is place one strip on your tongue 30-45 minutes before going to bed and allow it to dissolve completely. Unlike other sleeping pills, Setu Melatonin does not cause any withdrawal symptoms and hence can be consumed on a regular basis or as required.

If your lifestyle or your work just doesn’t help you get enough sleep, you can turn to supplementations that aid in weight loss and weight management. Setu offers Lean Lite, a supplement that fuels weight loss, curbs hunger cravings and enhances metabolism by intricately combining the benefits of garcinia cambogia, green tea and green coffee beans. It is formulated with patented and clinically proven Capsimax ® to help curb cravings, increase metabolism and promote healthy weight loss. Make it a habit of popping one tablet of Lean Lite before your main meal or before your workout and in a few weeks, witness yourself getting fitter and slimmer.

Another natural supplement that we offer for weight loss is Garcinia. The supplement is fortified with Garcinia Cambogia extract, known to boost metabolism, control appetite and promote fat burn. The formula used by Setu in formulating Garcinia contains the best-in-the-market 65% hydroxycitric acid (HCA) content for faster weight loss. Consuming one capsule before every main meal every day will help you kickstart your weight loss journey with desired results.