We can all agree that regular exercise is the best way to lose weight and stay healthy. But do we exercise daily? No. Do we sleep daily? Yes. So what would be a better way to lose weight than to do so while we sleep?
We present 8 amazing ways to actively lose weight more effectively while sleeping comfortably.
How To Lose Weight While Sleeping
8. Drink A Protein Shake Before Bed
Drink a smoothie with about 30 grams of protein before bed. Research has shown that it helps increase the number of calories the body burns while resting.
Protein also helps with muscle repair, and the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn at rest.
7. Eat Small Dinners
Avoid eating large meals in the night and abstain from doing so just before sleeping. During deep sleep, our brain emits a growth hormone. If you eat late at night, the growth hormone stores food in your system as fat instead of fuel.
6. Avoid Alcohol
Drinking alcohol close to bedtime will cause your body to metabolize alcohol during sleep, preventing it from reaching a REM state, which is when your body burns more calories.
A glass of wine at dinner is fine, but remember to stop drinking alcohol three hours before bed.
5. Set Yourself A Bedtime
We all recognize that getting an ideal amount of sleep is critical to our health, yet busy schedules, movies, and cell phones disrupt sleep.
Committing to a healthy number of hours of sleep per night (7-8 hours) helps the body burn more fat.
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that well-rested people burned 20% more calories after eating than those who slept less and inappropriately.
4. Avoid Exercising Before Bed
Exercise wakes our body up, making it difficult to get a good night’s sleep. Schedule your exercises for the morning.
This will wake up your body and keep you energized all day. But if, for some reason, you can’t exercise in the morning, do it at least four hours before bed.
3. Shut Down All Bedroom Electronics
Research at Harvard University found that wavelength blue light emitted by tablets and smartphones prohibits the body’s production of the sleep-aiding hormone, melatonin.
Another study by Singapore researchers found that long hours of television viewing caused higher levels of triglycerides (associated with diabetes) and lower levels of adiponectin (a protein that regulates glucose levels and the breakdown of fatty acids) in the body.
2. Turn Down The Thermostat
Sleeping in the subtly cold increases the effectiveness of our BAT (brown adipose tissues) storage which helps burn fat stored in the abdomen, keeping us warm.
A study published in the medical journal Diabetes showed that people who slept in rooms with a temperature of around 66 degrees burned 75 more calories than those who slept in warmer rooms.
1. Sleep In Complete Darkness
Sleeping in complete darkness helps the body produce the hormone melatonin, which not only induces good sleep but also aids in the production of calorie-burning, mitochondrial brown fat, according to a study published in the Journal of Pineal Research.
While the tricks mentioned above will help you lose weight, it is still recommended that you not skip your daily dose of exercise. Tell us in the comments below what factors make you miss going to the gym on a daily basis.
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