Help Curb Cravings with Sleep

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A quick nap may be the solution to Your cravings problem. The link between sleep deprivation and weight gain may be greater than previously thought according to recent studies. Several separate studies point out a connection between important hormones and proper sleep. By getting the proper amount of sleep you can increase your fat burning capabilities and reduce your cravings.

There are two specific hormones linked to both eating habits and sleep. The first is Ghrelin, it is in charge of telling your body it is time to eat, and the other, Leptin tells your body when to stop eating. When these hormones are in balance, you’ll feel hungry when you should and stop before you are completely full.

Imagine the kind of chaos it can cause in your system if these hormones are unbalanced. It’s literally a recipe for disaster. You’d feel hungry even if your body doesn’t need food, and you’d overeat. To make the situation even worse, when tired you’d probably reach for “stimulating” foods full of calories, sugar and fat.

Lack of sleep reduces the leptin levels in your body, making you crave carbohydrates. In addition to that, going without sleep interrupts your body’s ability to use carbohydrates properly thus raising the levels of glucose in your body, which produces higher insulin levels and increased body-fat storage.

Unfortunately, there is more bad news. Sleep deprivation also reduces the growth hormone. Growth hormone is a protein that helps your body balance fat and muscle. Without it, your body may be storing more fat than necessary. The higher fat levels, mean you’ll crave more high fat and high calorie foods to maintain that fat level.

Sleep has an impact on your cortisol levels too, which can also affect your weight. Cortisol is the stress hormone and can cause you to feel hungry even when you aren’t. When you deprive your body of sleep, you put your body into a state of unnatural stress increasing cortisol levels and increasing hunger at the same time.

If you’ve been trying to eat healthier or lose weight, and you just can’t figure out why those cravings keep coming back, take a look at your sleeping habits. Are you giving your body all the sleep it needs to do it’s job right? If you aren’t, the solution may be very simple: get more sleep.

Studies show that even a slight reduction in your amount of sleep can have a drastic impact on your body. With just a few hours shaved off a normal night of sleep each night for a single week, there’s a loss in the ability to process glucose. Insulin levels get raised to the point where you may enter a pre-diabetic state.

Sleeping enough each night is a vital element in reducing cravings. Gradually increase the amount of sleep you receive each day, if you normally sleep less than you should. It can be difficult to go from sleeping only five hours a night to a full eight hours so do it gradually. Try adding an hour to your sleep schedule weekly. Not only will you be helping your body to work properly you’ll reduce your cravings too.

Are cravings for sugar, salt, junk food, sodas, and coffee running your life? For over 20 years, Diana Walker, the Cravings Coach, has assisted people like you in using natural, safe options for creating vibrant health. Check out Diana’s newsletter, blog and podcast at http://www.thecravingscoach.com/blog and at http://www.diana2.com