Could the amount of sleep influence your Weight?

Let me tell you a real life story-

I had a patient, let us call him John

He had called me frantically seeking for help after he heard me give a talk at his Company - as a part of their Corporate Wellness Program

His issues were seriously bothering him - but his was an issue - that is commonly seen today

His only complaint: he had gained 16 kgs in 3 years - and his appetite hadn't really changed

So what do you think happened in these 3 years?

.

.

The past 3 years were emotionally challenging

• He lost his job

• He and his wife were separated for 2 years and finally got back

• Lost his parents in a car accident

Despite all that, he used to be in shape: He worked out, played cricket, and ate well.

Then his schedule changed, and he began working the night shift at his job. So he worked all night and took care of his daughter during the day while his wife was at work. That left him no time for exercise, and only about 4 hours for sleep.

To make matters worse, he craved sugar and carbohydrates and ate one huge meal of either a supersized burger meal or a large pizza - with a tall coke and some cookies before going to work each night to give him energy. He stopped eating food at home.

The result? Quick and insane weight gain.

Like him, there are so many who believe that sleep is useless that gets in the way of work, family, TV, social media, email, and exercise.  We make up for this lack of sleep by filling our reserves with sugar, refined carbs, caffeine, and other stimulants that we hope will give us more energy

So technically we are trying to compensate for lost energy from sleep by going overboard with energy from sugar and stimulants.

And - The results are in front of us: Over the last 10 years, our consumption of caffeine, stimulants and sugar has increased dramatically and so has our collective weight!

Sleep is extremely important when it comes to losing weight!

Our hormones that control our appetite are affected by sleep

Sleep Deprivation leads to increase in grehlin, the hormone that makes you feel hungry, and decreases leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full.

You stay hungry and start craving high-calorie, high-carbohydrate foods. 

And also - you need sleep to keep your levels of Cortisol — (the stress hormone that makes you fat) — low

Simple Solution - Sleep 7-9 hours