Tackling weight loss is tough enough and almost impossible if you feel tired all the time. For patients with sleep apnea, there is a relationship between losing shut-eye and gaining extra pounds.
Yes, sleep is necessary for not only mental focus and physical stamina but is essential to regulate your weight!
You might have a hidden sleep disorder that is wreaking havoc on your hormones ” and leading to more weight gain!
Sleep apnea related weight gain is all too common. It is estimated that 80 million Americans live with undiagnosed sleep apnea today.
Trying to lose weight without treating your apnea is a losing battle. Your body needs deep sleep night after night to regulate healthy functions, maintain your metabolism and to lose weight.
If you have apnea and are not regularly using CPAP, then you are almost certainly going to gain weight.
Here’s some things to understand about the connection between apnea and weight gain:
1. Not enough sleep and your body tries to make up for the lack of energy by craving sugars, carbs and a higher calorie count in general. In one study, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, people with a more severe case of the sleep disorder had a higher intake of calories, protein, cholesterol and saturated fat.
2. In a report from the Quebec Family Study, people who regularly only get five to six hours of sleep per night are 35% more likely to gain up to 11-pounds of fat over six years compared to a person who sleeps between seven to eight hours per night.
3. Without good sleep, the levels of the hormone ghrelin go way up. Ghrelin is produced in the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates appetite. So getting good sleep is probably the most natural appetite suppressant in the world!
