How Lack of Sleep Affects Your Weight--and Your Health

It’s not just poor diet and lack of exercise that are making Americans fatter and sicker these days — there’s a third leg to the stool: sleep deprivation. Across the country, there are approximately 70 million people struggling to get a good night’s sleep. Some have trouble falling asleep, some can’t stay asleep, and for others it’s a combination of both. The causes can range from a lumpy mattress to a serious health condition like sleep apnea.

Lack of sleep is a huge stressor on the body and is associated with numerous physical and emotional problems, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, a weakened immune system, and depression. It can also affect your weight. People tend to weigh more when they sleep less.

Studies show that when you don’t get enough sleep it hinders your body’s ability to metabolize food properly. Lack of sleep interferes with the production of two important hormones, leptin and ghrelin, which help regulate your metabolism and hunger levels. Leptin is produced in your fat cells; it suppresses hunger and lets your brain know when your stomach is full. Ghrelin is produced in your stomach cells; its job is to stimulate your appetite, slow your metabolism, and decrease your body’s ability to burn fat (levels of ghrelin normally increase before meals and decrease afterward).

Click here to read more on this article.....