Dr Oz says that you can lose up to 14 pounds in a year in your sleep. You think he's right? I have to agree. Maybe that's one of the factors that's contributed to my fat loss since I've moved to Steamboat. For the most part my days of sleep deprivation are long gone. I'm actually averaging 7.5 hrs per night as recommended by sleep experts and I feel great!
The science behind weight loss in your sleep.
Here's the scoop. Hormones run the show. If you're sleep deprived your body makes:
1.) More Grehlin, the hormone that says "EAT" more and more and….
2.) Less Leptin, the hormone that says "STOP" you've had enough.
3.) More Cortisol, the stress hormone that increases inflammation and fat storage.
4.) Less Adiponectin (mostly in caucasian women) the hormone that protects you from diabetes, and regulates your metabolism, fats and sugars.
There's more to it
You would think that your body would use more energy when it's awake, however according to Dr. Breus when you're in the critical stage of REM (restorative stage) sleep your brain is more active and requires more fuel (glucose). Also, as the night goes on and you go through your 90 minute sleep cycles the length of your REM sleep increases.
What does this mean?
If you're getting 6 or less hours of sleep you're missing out on the longest REM sleep cycle of the night. Therefore, just by adding an extra 90 minutes sleep per night you can lose up to 14 pounds in a year. Much easier than sweating in off. Did I actually say that???
Start your own experiment tonight
Set your alarm to go off 8 hours before you need to get up to be sure you'll get your butt in bed in time to get 7.5 hours of critical sleep for your health and fat loss and don't forget to tell your family and friends about it too. If you've got any other tricks to get more sleep share them in the comment section below. Sweet dreams!