Most people do not weigh the same before and after sleeping. Some activities during sleep cause people to lose a bit of weight. However, how much weight is lost during overnight sleep is not the same for all. For the most part, people lose around 1 pound for every 4 hours of sleep. So, they should lose around 2 pounds for the recommended 7 – 8 hours of sleep. The amount and quality of sleep you get matters.
Here in the weight loss segment of the IST Health website, we will touch on this subject. So, read this succinct article as you have some information to catch up on.
Summary
Most Overnight Weight Loss Is Temporary
The sort of weight that is lost as you sleep overnight is not the sort that causes you to lose arm fat fast. This is because it falls under the category of water weight. Water weight is unlike fat weight. The former is just temporary, and you would most likely gain it back as time unfolds during the daytime.
However, very little of the weight lost during sleep at night is body fat weight. For this reason, prolonged quality sleep is a step that will help achieve and sustain weight loss goals.
How Does Sleep Affect Weight?
Whether as loss of water weight or actual body fat weight, this study focuses on some of the ways sleep contributes to weight loss:
Metabolism Spike during Sleep
Metabolism is usually at an all-time high while people retire to bed. One explanation for this is increased brain activities during this period. As a result, it is not uncommon for people to take deeper breaths while sleeping. Speaking of taking deeper breaths, let’s delve into the next point.
Effects of Breathing
As a result of the increase in metabolic activities during sleep, taking deeper breaths is likely. For some, it is as deep as snoring. As the person breathing exhales carbon, something else is let out as well. That is water.
The combined loss of water and carbon during this time is one of the explanations for weight loss in the morning. But as explained earlier, those who check later in the day soon realize the new reading on the scale is higher than what it read a while ago.
Effects of Sweating
An increase in the hormones produced by your thyroid gland while you sleep leads to overnight sweating. This is aside from sleeping conditions which play a major role. Seeing how your thyroid gland has control over your body’s metabolism, it causes temperature rise and eventually leads to sweating. As you may well know, water is lost during perspiration and this causes water weight loss at night.
The Best Ways to Lose Weight
Some studies for several years have pointed out the best ways to lose weight. In summary, the idea is to engage a holistic approach. This is better than depending on just one step and is also a healthy way to go about weight loss. To this end, the best way to lose weight entails doing the following:
Proper Nutrition
You need to take your diet seriously. In simpler terms, be mindful of your food intake. Make sure every food that you eat is geared towards healthy living and will help you achieve your weight loss goals.
The general rule is to watch your intake of calories. This reason is so that your body will burn more than you need for basal metabolic activities.
Have Fitness Goals
We would have simply said “exercise” but it is good to look beyond exercise. While you should exercise, try to avoid a sedentary lifestyle as much as possible. Sometimes, use the stairs instead of the lift or elevator; take random strolls, among other fitness decisions.
Exercise is also crucial. It does not only reduce fat but supports the increase and development of muscle mass. We strongly recommend having a gym membership as the views and expertise of fitness professionals can come in handy.
We have other information on our website’s weight loss segment that you will find helpful. For example, you can discover how much weight you can lose in a month.