The document discusses how sleep is important for weight control and losing weight. It notes that ancient Chinese medicine from 5,000 years ago recognized sleep as important for health and longevity. Modern research has found that lack of sleep can negatively impact hormones like leptin and ghrelin that regulate appetite and metabolism, making weight loss more difficult. Getting enough quality sleep is found to be as important as diet and exercise for maintaining a healthy weight.

1. Copyright © 2009 Terry Shintani, MD, JD, MPH, KSJ
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2. The answer – a resounding “YES!” – may
surprise you.
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3. What‟s even more surprising is how much
evidence supports the fact that regular and
adequate sleep can help you control your
weight. But what I find most eye-opening of all
is how long we‟ve known about the relationship
to good health and good sleep.
5,000 years ago, the Nei ching – the ancient
Chinese classic and oldest book on internal
medicine -- lists one of the key elements of
good health and longevity is regular sleep.
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4. Since that time, researchers have discovered
that sleep is much more important to our health
than we might have imagined. And recently, it is
becoming increasingly evident that a good
night‟s sleep is also more important than we
ever imagined to our weight control. When
you‟re sleep deprived…even a little…you create
additional obstacles to your weight loss goals.
The body reacts to this by hoarding calories as
fat, making weight loss very difficult.
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5. One reason is pure commerce: someone is
always trying to make money with weight loss
products and the promise of dropping pounds
without doing anything but getting a good night‟s
sleep is very appealing. But the more important
reason that „lose weight while you sleep‟ is such
a commonly heard phrase these days is that
science is catching up to the notion that sleep is
important to weight loss.
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6. How do you lose weight while you sleep? Well I
touched on it in the section on “Play More” where I
describe the effect of exercising regularly. To
reiterate the importance of regular exercise, I want
to emphasize that one of the best outcomes of
regular exercise is not just the calories you burn
while exercising.
Regular exercise bumps up your resting metabolic
rate and helps you burn more calories at rest.
Even while you sleep! Thus, if you do exercise
regularly, you will soon begin to “lose weight while
you sleep”.
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7. But there‟s another newer set of findings
about sleep that may be just as important.
Researchers are finding that sleep and how
much of it you get regularly has an
important effect on hormones that
regulate your appetite and regulate your
metabolism.
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8. David Rapoport, MD, director of the Sleep
Medicine Program at the New York University
School of Medicine in New York City points out
that "One of the more interesting ideas that has
been smoldering and is now gaining momentum
(in weight loss theory) is the appreciation of the
fact that sleep and sleep disruption do
remarkable things to the body -- including
possibly influencing our weight."
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9. According to Michael Breus, PhD, a faculty
member of the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine
and director of The Sleep Disorders Centers of
Southeastern Lung Care in Atlanta, one of the
most intriguing findings has to do with recently
discovered hormones leptin and ghrelin. These
two hormones work in tandem in a "checks and
balances" system that regulates feelings of
hunger and fullness.
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10. As expected, those who slept less than eight
hours a night had lower levels of leptin and
higher levels of ghrelin. But…they also had a
higher level of body fat. What's more, that
level of body fat seemed to correlate with their
sleep patterns. Specifically, those who slept the
fewest hours per night weighed the most.
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11. When we are deprived of sleep, the hormone
cortisol is released at an increased level and
makes us feel hungry even if we are full. Cortisol
is a hormone that is commonly released in
response to physical or emotional stress.
Cortisol signals the body to load up with
calories in anticipation of needing energy for
„fight or flight.‟
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12. As a result of increased cortisol
production, people who continue to lose
sleep on a regular basis will tend to
experience hunger even when they have had
an adequate amount of calories.
So more sleep means fewer problems with
almost every aspect of weight loss, from the
physiology to the psychology. How can that
help you?
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13. Your mom was giving you good advice if she
encouraged you to get plenty of sleep. When your
head hits the pillow, your body and your mind use the
down time to make repairs and get ready for a new
day. Sleep is important to every aspect of body
wellness.
It‟s also clear that sleep loss can increase hunger
and affect your body‟s metabolism in a way that
makes weight loss more difficult.
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14. Sleep is the third prong of three-part approach
to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.
Together with the kind of eating plan you‟ll find
in the Eat More, Weigh Less Diet and regular
exercise, these three „legs‟ give you a well-
balanced foundation on which to build your life.
When you aren‟t sleeping enough, your body is
unable to go into its normal deep sleep pattern.
Deep sleep restores energy levels and losing it
decreases growth hormone levels. (Growth
hormone is a protein that helps regulate the
body‟s proportions of fat and muscle in adults.
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15. I know it may seem counter-intuitive. You‟d
think that you‟d be burning more calories if you
were awake than asleep. But with less sleep –
and therefore less growth hormone – you hobble
your body‟s ability to lose fat and grow muscle.
Need more information about Lose Weight While
You Sleep?
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