Answer me honestly: would you love to get more sleep?
Most people would answer that question with an enthusiastic ‘yes’. Sleep is a delicious indulgence, perhaps one of the few that anybody frowns upon. Even so, in our work-obsessed culture, very few of us actually get enough sleep.
This may be making us fatter.
If you have recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, then it is very likely that your doctor recommended that you lose a bit of weight. Right?
Poor diet, lack of exercise, sugary drinks, and a whole lot of stress can definitely increase your weight. But we already knew that.
Now, scientists are starting to realize that sleep plays an important role in weight, as well.
Poor sleep, or very few hours of sleep, can lead to weight gain. When you are not sleeping enough, your body can easily suffer from hormonal imbalances. Hormones play a crucial role in virtually everything that we do, one of those things is eating.
When we don’t get enough sleep, our hormones that signal to our brains that we have 
eaten enough become out of balance. Not only that, but a lack of sleep can instead tell your brain to eat more food.
Then, once the food gets to your stomach, an increased amount of endocannabinoids can affect how the food is processed. The gut bacteria also becomes imbalanced as a result, which gets in the way of converting food into energy.
So even though you’re eating more food (unnecessarily, by the way, you are not necessarily feeling satisfied.
Can you understand how this might be detrimental to people with type 2 diabetes?
From a poor night’s rest, you not only feel tired all day but you also pack on the pounds. So do yourself a favor and get some rest, okay? Go to bed at a decent time and block out at least 8 distraction-free hours to sleep.
[expand title=”References“]
Smart Brief. URL Link. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
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