With the recent ease in Covid restrictions, fitness junkies can now go back to their regular grind in the gym. But did you know you don’t have to lift heavy weights or do Pilates to burn calories? Without hitting the gym, your body does the hard work all on its own while you’re off to dreamland. 

Just to be clear, having a sound slumber is not the same as stepping on a treadmill. But the point still stands: while you’re fast asleep, you’re burning calories.

On average, we burn around 50 calories an hour while we’re out there catching some z’s. The actual calorie count depends, however, on one’s basal metabolic rate (BMR), which contributes to about 80% of the total calories burned in a day. In order for the body to keep functioning, the brain burns glucose of energy, accounting for about 20% of the calories we consume while at rest. 

Your brain just never takes a break, now does it? While our body has clocked out, our brain is working overtime with tasks such as transmission of human growth hormone (HGH) for cell repair, memory consolidation, circadian rhythm* reset, and even providing a deep brain clean (a brain wash, as you will). With a good night’s sleep, our brain can do all its work efficiently and balance out our body’s chemistry so we can function well for the next waking day.  

Adding to our body burning calories while at sleep, research has also shown how getting a good shut-eye benefits weight loss while sleep deprivation causes negative effects to our body.

Here are tips for sleeping better when you’re trying to lose weight:

1. Keep a regular sleep schedule.

2. Sleep in a dark or dim room.

3. Avoid eating before bedtime.

4. Reduce stress (which sounds easier said than done, ☹)

5. Make it a habit to sleep earlier, and rise earlier. 

Losing weight or not, a good night’s sleep is very important for our health, so always remember to try and sleep for 7-9 hours. 

As much as we like it, trying to get 8 hours of sleep in under 4 hours is an impossible dream. 

(So I just sleep as much as I want.)

Working out in her dreams,

Catchy

*circadian rhythm: “24-hour cycles that are part of the body's internal clock, running in the background to carry out essential functions and processes”

Helpful links:

https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/1890918/Checklists-offers/Sleep%20and%20Weight%20Gain%20Loss%20eBook.pdf

https://www.sleepfoundation.org/physical-health/weight-loss-and-sleep

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20921542/