Yes, you can burn fat while sleeping. Your body is constantly burning calories, even when you sleep. There are ways to boost that number, too. However, burning calories isn’t the only way sleep helps you. Besides benefiting your body and keeping you alert, it helps you stay thin in another way. No matter how many calories you burn, you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. When lack sleep, it causes your hunger hormones to increase and those that make you feel full to be limited. Lack of sleep causes overeating!
Studies show that lack of sleep causes weight gain.
If you sleep less, you might find that you gain weight easier. One review found that the potential for obesity increased by 55 percent in adults and a whopping 89 percent in children who lacked adequate sleep. The Nurses study that tracked the sleep habits of 60 thousand nurses who weren’t obese for sixteen years found that those who slept just five hours or less were fifteen percent more likely to be obese than those who slept seven or more hours. One small study showed that cutting back sleep for a group of adults to five hours for just five nights showed a weight gain of almost two pounds!
When you get adequate sleep, it keeps your metabolism at full throttle.
Not only will you have more energy to workout when you get adequate sleep, you’ll be more resolved to stick with your workout program. Keeping your metabolism running at full force is important to weight loss. If you want to boost belly blasting, keep your room cooler. Studies show that keeping the temperature in the room at 66 degrees doubled the amount of belly fat lost compared to those who slept in 75 and 81 degree rooms.
Try some protein at bedtime.
Casein protein, such as that found in cottage cheese, can actually boost the amount of calories you burn as you sleep. It takes a long time to digest, approximately seven hours, which means it keeps your metabolism going strong throughout the night. It also helps prevent early morning hunger, which is good if you workout first thing in the morning. One study showed that consuming the protein casein before bed helped improve muscle repair and strength, while burning an extra 30 to 35 calories. Not only does cottage cheese contain casein, it also contains tryptophan that improves your sleep.
- Do strength training resistance exercises after work. Strength building exercises boost your metabolism for up to 16 hours, which means you’ll be burning more calories as you sleep.
- Turn out the lights and all technology to get the best possible sleep.
- If you use the snooze, you don’t lose. Rather than setting your alarm for an hour early and allow yourself to hit the snooze, set it for the time you intend to get up. You’ll get better sleep that helps keep pounds off when you don’t interrupt it every 15 minutes to hit the snooze button.
- Establish a bed time and wake up time and stick with it, even on weekends. It helps you get better REM sleep that affects the number of calories you burn. This deep sleep state is when you burn the most.