Leptin
Leptin is the hormone responsible for suppressing your appetite and letting your brain know when you are full after eating.
Leptin
When you don't get enough sleep your bodies ability to produce necessary levels of Leptin is compromised, thereby you feel hungrier and find it harder to stop eating. Think about it for a second, when you're tired don't you tend to eat more? I know I do, and usually my food choices aren't the best when I'm tired either.
Things That Affect Leptin in Your Body:
• Lack of Sleep
• Emotional Stress (Maybe that explains why you can eat so much more when you're recovering from a broken heart? There always seems to be more room in your stomach when you're comfort eating doesn't there?)
• Caloric Restriction (Another reason why diets don't work)
Ghrelin
Ghrelin is often considered Leptin's opposing hormone. Its role in your body is to stimulate hunger. Lack of sleep is associated with higher levels of Ghrelin.
So do you see how this works?
Lack of Sleep = higher levels of Ghrelin, which stimulates your appetite, making you want to eat more.
Lack of Sleep = lower levels of Leptin, which lowers your brains ability to know when you are full.
Lack of Sleep = eat more and don't know when to stop
And that's only the first 2 reasons why you should plan your sleep in order to create your dream body
Hold on to your hats for the last 2.
Growth Hormone
Growth Hormone is, in some circles, like the holy grail of hormones. This essential hormone stimulates growth, cell reproduction and maybe most importantly aids in your bodies ability to rest and recuperate. Growth Hormone is known to increase muscle
mass, help with calcium retention and the increase of bone mineralisation. Can you see how essential this hormone can be to helping you create your dream body?
How can you make sure you have enough Growth Hormone for your body's needs? Yes, you guessed it, sleep.
Deep sleep is known to stimulate Growth Hormone.
Cortisol
Cortisol is well known as the stress hormone. It is produced by your adrenal gland and activates anti stress and anti inflammatory responses in your body. Unfortunately elevated levels of Cortisol in your body can lead to muscle wasting and a decrease in bone formation, neither of which is helpful when you are trying to create your dream body.
Sleep deprivation over time will lead to an increase in your bodies Cortisol levels.
(As a quick aside, prolonged physical exercise can also increase Cortisol levels. In the fitness world we call this over training. Don't fall victim to this practice and ensure you have adequate rest days to allow your body to fully recover from your training.)
Are you convinced now? Do you see why sleep may be the missing ingredient in your dream body recipe? If you want to create your dream body then I urge you to plan your sleep just like you plan your nutrition and your workouts.
How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
How much sleep do you need? At least 8 hours, if it's at all possible try for 10, all in one continuous session to allow for optimal rest and recuperation.
If it is absolutely impossible for whatever reason to get that much sleep all at once, then try for 7 hours in one stretch and then an hour long nap in the afternoon. Optimally though, 8-10 hours in a single stretch and if you're tired in the afternoon then squeeze in a "power nap." It may well seem like an excessive amount of sleep, but when you are training as hard as you are you need the time to rest and allow your body to recuperate in order to maintain your hectic pace and optimise your lean muscle mass gains.
And Finally...
So if you take only one thing away from this article I hope it's this: Plan Your Sleep! Don't be easy come easy go with it. Treat your sleep with the same dedication and care that you treat your nutrition and training, plan it and don't let anything get in the way of it. Your dream body will thank you for it.
My Top 4 Reasons Why You Need to Plan Your Sleep in Order to Create Your Dream Body
Be Forever Fabulous,
Cindy Johns
Women's Fitness Expert, Lifestyle Creator, Health & Fitness Coach, Pilates Instructor
http://www.femme-fabulous.com