How Deep Sleep Can Aid In Curbing Cravings & Promote Natural Fat Loss

Your hormones are chemical messengers that facilitate communication between trillions of your cells. When your hormones are in sync, your body works like a well-oiled machine, ensuring the correct transmission of instructions for various functions.

On the other hand, when your hormones are out of whack or sync, it can wreak havoc throughout your entire system and prevent/disrupt this communication.

Hormonal imbalances are the most common root cause of several health issues today, especially among young girls and women from PCOS, endometriosis, irregular periods, excess fat, infertility, low libido, thyroid issues, diabetes, difficult menopause, poor skin and hair health, unexplained fatigue, mood swings, and more.

Need better health? Bring your hormones back in sync and maintain that balance. Yes, while you seek the medical intervention you need, one lifestyle factor plays a massive role in striking this balance. It is free. Deep, quality, and restorative sleep.

The bitter truth is most of us sacrifice sleep in the race to succeed, work, carry out our responsibilities, for entertainment, and to meet our social calendars.

Did you know hormonal balance occurs during sleep? The more sleep-deprived you are, the greater your risk of a hormonal imbalance.

Let's break down the connection between sleep and hormones now

Sleep as a natural cleanser

Do you wonder why your mouth smells, your first pee looks dark yellow, your tongue has a whitish coating, and you have dirt accumulated between your eyes - when you wake up? These are signs that your body is working hard to cleanse itself while you sleep. A good night of rest is the most powerful cleanse that exists on the planet. Your urge to pass a motion in the morning is also a sign of this. You can hop onto the best cleanse program, but if you are sleep-deprived, it will not work for you.

Sleep deprivation can disrupt your bowel movements, back up fecal matter, and cause estrogen reabsorption back into the colon. Over time, this reabsorption can lead to estrogen dominance and pave the way for estrogen-dominant cancers, PCOD, cysts, fibroids, endometriosis, and other hormonal issues.

The connection between sleep and cortisol

Cortisol is produced by your adrenal glands in response to a stressor. It regulates metabolism, reduces inflammation, and aids memory, in addition to various other functions. Cortisol peaks early in the morning and gradually declines throughout the day. Sleep deprivation can cause your cortisol levels to remain elevated throughout the night, disrupting this natural rhythm.

When you sleep, your body moves into the PNS mode or parasympathetic nervous system; your rest, digest, repair, recovery, and regeneration mode. When you are sleep-deprived, you are constantly in the fight or flight mode or sympathetic nervous system, which can spike your cortisol levels. When cortisol spikes, it also leads to a rise or drop in several other hormones, including reproductive hormones.

How does sleep affect estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone? 

Quality sleep helps regulate reproductive hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones are critical for ovulation, menstrual cycle regularity, and overall reproductive health among women. Poor sleep can disrupt this balance and lead to irregular menstrual cycles affecting ovulation, which is crucial for conception among women. It can also reduce sperm count and motility, lower testosterone levels, and impact libido and sexual function among men.

Why does melatonin matter? 

The pineal gland in your brain produces the sleep hormone - melatonin. It helps regulate your body's circadian rhythm or sleep-wake patterns that align with the day-night cycle of mother nature. Melatonin levels rise in the evening, signaling to the body that it is time to prepare for sleep. It helps induce sleep and drowsiness and lowers body temperature. While darkness stimulates it, exposure to light or blue light can suppress it. Melatonin is also known as an anti-cancer hormone. It is a powerful antioxidant and cell protector and exhibits anti-cell proliferation activity.

How can sleep curb cravings?

Have you noticed how you struggle with cravings, irritation, and frustration after a night of poor sleep? This has a connection with the hormones responsible for regulating your appetite. While ghrelin is your hunger-inducing hormone, leptin is your satiety-inducing hormone. Sleep deprivation can turn ghrelin on and turn leptin off. Less sleep equals low leptin and high ghrelin. The result is a stimulated appetite and cravings to eat when you are not physically hungry and in turn, excess body fat. Sleep deep to balance these hormones and watch how those cravings start reducing naturally.

How does sleep affect insulin?

Your pancreas produces insulin to regulate blood sugar levels by helping the uptake of glucose into cells for energy production or storage. While quality sleep promotes good insulin sensitivity, allowing cells to effectively use glucose, sleep deprivation reduces insulin sensitivity and makes cells less responsive to insulin. Several studies show how a single night of deprivation can increase insulin resistance and in turn, increase blood sugar levels. As a result, chronic sleep deprivation is lined with a risk of type 2 diabetes.

If you are sleep-deprived, you are likely to have elevated cortisol. As we discussed, when cortisol spikes, it has a cascading effect on several other hormones in our body, including insulin. Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to insulin resistance and worsen type 2 diabetes.

Whether you are looking at curbing cravings, aiding fat loss, or bringing hormonal balance, prioritising good sleep hygiene. Without it, even the best plans won't work for you. 

The author is an Integrative Lifestyle Expert

Luke Coutinho

Guest Author