5 Sleeping Tips that will Help you Control Weight

Sleep is essential to feeling refreshed, rested and is vital for a healthy lifestyle. Sleep Awareness Week runs from March 11th – 17th, so we want to help you realise the importance of getting enough sleep. Did you know that the amount of sleep affects how easily you reach your weight control goals?

Sleep is like nutrition, for the brain. If you want to lose or maintain your weight, it’s vital that you make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Why? Because sleep impacts your hunger hormones – ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin signals to your brain that you need to eat, whereas leptin cues your brain that you’re full. If you’re not getting enough sleep, your leptin levels plummet, signalling to your body that you need to eat. So one of the greatest ways to help your body notice these signals that you’re full is to ensure you’re getting enough sleep.

So how can you make sure that you’re getting the most from your sleep at night? Read on to discover our 5 top tips that will help you reach your goal weight.

5 Tips on Getting the Most From Your Sleep at Night

1. Synchronization

We all have a natural cycle that tells our body when we feel sleepy and awake. Tuning into these signals should be a major goal if you want to achieve a good night’s sleep. To help set this natural body clock, pick a time to go to bed every night, and stick to it. Most healthy adults need between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. So if you need to get up at 6am, make sure you’re in bed before 10pm.  If you have a day off from work, try to get out of bed at the same time as you would if it were a normal workday. This helps to synchronize your natural sleep patterns and get your body into a healthy rhythm.

2. Exercise

Exercise does more than just help us achieve our weight control or maintenance goals. It also directly affects the quality of our sleep. It can do wonders for insomnia and increase the amount of time spent in stages of deep sleep; a sleep state where dreams do not occur, but is highly restorative for your body. Be careful of exercising too close to bedtime as it raises metabolism and can stimulate hormones in the body. This can cause you to feel awake, instead of sleepy which won’t help with synchronising your body clock.

3. Lighting

Try to stop viewing screens on your TV, smartphone, laptop or tablet a few hours before you go to bed. The light emitted from these devices may actually disrupt your sleep. Additionally, the stimulus of watching television programs right up to the time when you’re ready for sleep may leave your mind overly stimulated, making it harder to fall asleep. Keep the room you’re sleeping in as dark as possible to facilitate a good night’s sleep.

4. Environment

There are significant factors that can contribute to a good night’s sleep. Noise levels, temperature, lighting and the comfort of your bed all contribute to the environment which you sleep in. It is recommended that you do whatever is necessary to eliminate noise; especially the types that you find personally annoying. Earplugs, sound machines and even a box fan can help in this endeavour. Generally, it’s easier to sleep when it’s cool. Not too cold and definitely not too hot. Finally, a good quality, comfortable mattress is a must!

If you’re still struggling to get a good night’s sleep, despite your best efforts, try taking a good quality Multivitamin which has fatigue-fighting features to help you feel refreshed and ready to go. A great option is the Thinco Turbo Multi Vitamins which work to relieve fatigue, stress, nervous tension and supports your immune function.

5. Relax

Letting yourself unwind after a busy day is a great way to have a good nights sleep. Take some time to meditate and reflect on your day before you go to bed. If you’re not into meditating, playing soothing music is great for helping you to unwind. We’re loving the Calm App which plays calming sleep stories and sounds to help you drift off to sleep.