Importance of Sleep and Weight

 You've restricted your calories to the point of hunger, and you're a familiar face at the gym. But you're still struggling with unwanted weight. Could sleep be the answer? Stay tuned to learn more about maintaining a healthy weight by improving your sleep.   

 I'm Dr.Vickie Petz Kasper. I practiced obstetrics and gynecology for 20 years until I landed on the other side of the sheets as a very sick patient. My health was out of control. My doctor challenged me to make radical changes through lifestyle medicine. Now I feel great and I want to help you make changes that make a difference. Healthy Looks Great On You podcast takes you to mini medical school so you can learn the power of lifestyle medicine.

If you're ready to take control of your health, you're in the right  place. Whether you're focused on prevention or you're trying to manage a condition. I'll give you practical steps to start your own journey toward better health because healthy looks great on you.

  This is Episode 161

Importance of Sleep and Weight.  

It doesn't seem fair. You eat less than others and exercise more, but you've still got an unwanted spare tire around your belly. If you've checked all the boxes and can't figure out what's wrong, maybe it's time to go to bed and get some good quality sleep. 

Did you know that there are studies that indicate as much as a 40 to 55 percent increased risk of obesity associated with short duration of sleep and this is true for night shift workers as well. Of course, there are other factors that contribute to excess weight gain, but poor sleep is an often overlooked contributor that keeps you from reaching your healthy weight goals.

Despite your best efforts, the risk of metabolic syndrome is increased by three fold by poor sleep. In today's episode, you'll understand the sleep weight connection, assess your current sleep quality, and implement science backed strategies to improve sleep and start making habit changes to your sleep that affect your diet and activity level.

Wow! It looks like sleep may be the secret ingredient that ties it all together. Now, am I saying you'll lose weight if you have good quality sleep?  Sorry, but no. But what I am saying is that if you don't sleep well, your chances of struggling with obesity are increased. 

And that goes for children as well as adults.  If you missed the previous episodes on sleep in this series, I'll put links in the show notes. And if you want practical steps to help improve your sleep, register for my free live Sleep Masterclass. I'll put a link in the show notes. Because if you improve your sleep, you'll have more energy, improved mood, and maybe an easier time controlling your weight. 

If you're worried about the health consequences of belly fat such as type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, heart disease and depression, then don't get stuck in this cycle of frustration. Struggling, without seeing any progress, takes a toll on your mental health and emotions.

 Let's start by going to mini medical school to meet the hormones that control appetite.

Gherlin is the hunger hormone. Think of it like a lead foot on the gas pedal going full speed ahead. Leptin is the counter hormone that controls satiety, which is a signal to your brain that you've had enough and you're satisfied. So this one pumps the brakes. Gherlin's job is to tell you, I'm hungry so that you eat.

Most of it's produced in cells that line the stomach, which makes perfect sense, that the sensor would be in the gut. It then travels through the bloodstream to the brain, where it turns on receptors in the hypothalamus. Now this is the central control center for hunger.

And that stimulates the release of neuropeptide Y which increases appetite and also decreases energy expenditure to conserve calories. Now, levels of ghrelin should ri