Wednesday, January 9, 2013

3 Facts About Sleep and Losing Weight By Carolyn Hansen

As I have said many times, strength training and a healthy diet is the secret combination for losing weight and keeping it off. That doesn't take anything away from using every scientific fact to aid in your quest. Even simple things can contribute to how much weight you lose and how fast you lose it.

Staying away from things that cause you to gain weight is just as beneficial as finding methods for losing weight and keeping it off. For instance, evidence shows that lack of sleep contributes to weight gain. It is not evident exactly why this is true, but a study indicated that women who only sleep 5 hours per night gain weight more dramatically than women who get 7 hours of sleep.

Three theories exist as possible causes for this:

1. Secretion of Cortisol

Although it has not been proven, sleep deprivation is thought to affect the amount of Cortisol secreted by the body. This hormone is one that regulates the human appetite. Losing sleep may make a person feel hungry when they are not because of the reaction in the metabolism.

2. More Sedentary

People who don't have enough sleep often move less during their waking hours. This means fewer calories burned and fewer pounds lost.

3. The Affect on Emotions

It is no secret that people who don't sleep do not think clearly. Emotions are affected by lack of sleep and sudden bouts of depression, anger, or frustration can follow. Insomnia breeds confusion and crankiness, which aren't the best mental conditions for losing weight and keeping it off.

Weight loss and maintenance only work when the mind and the body perform in unity with one another. If you get 8 hours sleep each night, your diet program will go smoother and you will be better able to focus on more of the important aspects of your life.

Losing weight and keeping it off begins with motivation to achieve a goal, and sleep is an important ingredient in how well you will be motivated. If you currently aren't sleeping as much as you should, develop rituals you perform before bedtime so that your system slows down. A hot bath, reading, writing notes, and other practices to unwind will make your body more ready for sleep. Avoid doing anything that might keep your mind alert.

Even if you need to sleep, don't take the short route and use medications. They will eventually make your problems worse. Reduce your stress and you will sleep better and be prepared to lose those excess pounds.

The idea that your subconscious mind may be actively blocking your conscious efforts to lose weight can be hard to swallow at first. So in addition to revealing my top 4 secrets to effective weight loss, I have included in my free report "Visualization Secrets For Weight Loss Success" a section on how mastering your subconscious mind through visualization can make all the difference to your level of weight loss success.

You can download that report here: http://weightlossmotivationbible.com/freereport

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carolyn_Hansen

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