Sounds crazy right? I am constantly pushing you to get up get out and get moving. And now I am telling you to get to bed early, rest more and for goodness sakes don’t skip those zzzz’s. Sleep more to lose weight, huh?

Sleep is an essential part of healing and repair and optimal repair takes seven to eight hours.

The link between good sleep and weight loss is all about balancing our hormones, especially cortisol. When cortisol ( the stress hormone ) is high it majorly interrupts your sleep cycle. Cortisol increases brain activity you feel more amped up all over.

As women age, estrogen and progesterone decrease and cortisol rises. When cortisol rises, insulin rises and insulin is your fat storing hormone.

Rising Insulin = Fat Storage = Weight Gain

A vicious cycle begins as cortisol rises, you have trouble sleeping, rising your cortisol even more.

Inability to sleep also decreases the productivity of your thyroid, which among other things produces the hormones that regulate your metabolic rate.

Did you know that sleep deprivation itself can actually create weight gain?

In our fast paced, overstimulated, go go go society, is it any wonder that so many people have trouble losing weight? The vast majority of us never get in enough sleep.

Ladies and Gents. If you are struggling to lose weight, consider making sleep a priority and part of your overall healthy lifestyle plan.

Wishing you all the best of Health + Happiness Always and All Your Days

Gerryl