Why does getting enough sleep help you lose fat faster?

Fat loss is not only dependent on exercise or diet, but also closely related to the quality of sleep. This is because sleep directly affects hormones, metabolism and the body's ability to recover.

Getting enough sleep helps you lose fat faster due to the following hormonal mechanisms:

Leptin

Leptin is a satiety hormone secreted by fatty tissue. This hormone signals to the brain whether the body has enough energy. When you get enough sleep, leptin levels remain stable, helping you feel full longer and preventing overeating, according to Medical News Today (UK).

Good sleep helps regulate hormones in the body, thereby reducing fat more effectively.

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However, lack of sleep significantly reduces leptin, causing the brain to mistakenly believe the body is low on energy. Research from the University of Chicago (USA) showed that sleeping only 4 hours a night for two consecutive days reduced leptin levels by up to 18%. This resulted in increased appetite and higher calorie intake.

Additionally, when leptin levels are low, the body tends to slow down its metabolism to conserve energy, leading to increased fat storage, especially in the abdomen.

Ghrelin

In contrast to leptin, ghrelin is a hunger hormone that stimulates appetite and is secreted from the stomach. When the body sleeps less, ghrelin levels increase, leading to more intense feelings of hunger and cravings for sugary, starchy, or fatty foods.

Sleep deprivation can increase ghrelin by 28% and decrease leptin by 18%, thereby promoting overeating. Additionally, ghrelin stimulates the secretion of growth hormone. However, prolonged sleep deprivation disrupts this process, reducing the ability to rebuild muscle and burn fat.

Insulin

Insulin, secreted by the pancreas, is a hormone that controls blood sugar levels and determines whether the body uses or stores energy. When sleep-deprived, insulin sensitivity decreases significantly, meaning the body has to secrete more insulin to move glucose from the blood into cells. Prolonged high insulin levels cause the body to prioritize fat storage, especially visceral fat.

A study published in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology (2015) showed that after just four nights of sleeping 4-5 hours each night, insulin sensitivity in healthy individuals decreased by 20-30%. This level is equivalent to prediabetes.

Getting enough sleep helps the pancreas function smoothly, maintaining stable insulin levels, thereby encouraging the body to use stored fat for energy instead of accumulating more.

Cortisol

Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is secreted by the adrenal glands to help the body cope with stress. However, when you don't get enough sleep, cortisol levels rise abnormally, especially in the evening and early morning. This disrupts the fat-burning process.

What not everyone knows is that people who don't get enough sleep have 37% higher nighttime cortisol levels than those who get enough sleep. Prolonged high cortisol levels not only increase feelings of hunger but also stimulate fat storage in the abdominal area.

Furthermore, high cortisol levels inhibit the male hormone testosterone and growth hormone. These are two crucial factors that help the body maintain lean muscle mass and burn fat effectively, according to Medical News Today .

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vi-sao-ngu-du-lai-giup-giam-mo-nhanh-hon-1852510241140176.htm