Sleeping well helps us lose weight. Yes, it may seem contradictory, but you will discover in this article that it is not so. Understand with us the Importance of sleep in weight loss and the keys to improving your rest and thus achieving your goals.
Getting adequate rest is essential to enjoy good health. When due to different circumstances we don't sleep well, our body suffers from various problems of metabolic and psychological origin. And behind these we find the relationship between sleep and weight loss.
Why does improving your rest help you lose weight?
As we have already mentioned, inadequate rest generates different metabolic problems. And these are, specifically, those related to glucose, those that influence this relationship. Adequate sleep breaks help improve glucose tolerance, avoiding sudden spikes in glucose.
When glucose rises above normal levels, the kidney begins to filter it in order to eliminate it through urine. In this process, in addition to glucose, we lose water and other salts, increasing our feeling of hunger and activating the storage system that generates the accumulation of unnecessary fat in the medium term.
Sleep well on a regular basis, therefore, reduces the chances of being overweight, obesity or diabetes and thus contributes to maintaining an adequate weight and achieving our weight loss goals.
The keys to a good rest
Getting a good night's sleep isn't just about sleeping eight hours, or it doesn't have to be. In fact, the latest studies on sleep establish that adults and young people should sleep between 6 and 11 hours depending on our needs.
However, it is not only the number of hours that is important. sleep quality We should be as concerned, if not more, about the number of hours we sleep. And what do we mean by quality sleep? It is sleep that comes quickly, in less than 30 minutes, and that allows us to rest peacefully, without waking up too many times during the night and for less than 20 minutes.
Feeling rested in the morning also depends on the time of deep sleep, that phase of sleep in which it is difficult for anything to wake us up. According to experts, at least 45 minutes of deep sleep per night are necessary, either in a single phase or divided into two or three.
Tips to improve your rest
What can we do to improve the quality of our sleep? There are quite a few things we can review around our sleep routine, from schedules to what we eat or do before resting. Take note of the following tips:
- Set some schedules. Going to bed at the same time every day has been shown to help make falling asleep easier.
- Avoid using devices that emit light just before going to sleep, such as mobile phones, tablets or the television itself. The blue light emitted by these devices can interfere with the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
- Light dinner. Eating a light dinner -which is not a small thing- helps you fall asleep. Dinner, beyond being light, should also take place early, at least 2 hours before going to bed, so that our body can digest properly. And precisely in order to digest properly, there are foods that we should avoid consuming, such as all those that imply a heavy digestion (legumes, red meat, fats) or those that are stimulants such as coffee, tea or alcohol because they are stimulants, such as
- Consider taking a cold shower shortly before going to sleep or spending a few minutes practicing relaxation techniques, such as meditation or deep breathing.
- Drink a digestive and relaxing infusion hot. Passionflower, valerian, lavender, hops, cherry blossom or a combination of lemon balm, apple and cinnamon are ideal for this.
- Create an environment conducive to sleepingMake sure your bedroom is at a comfortable temperature and not too noisy. Consider using white noise or soothing sounds to create a relaxing environment.