4 Ways to Lose Weight While You’re Sleeping
Hey Angels and Alphas,
We all know that weight loss strategies require a lot of focus, attention, and dedication.
After all, eating right and exercising correctly aren’t easy things to do, nor are they simple… but what if a few of these weight-loss strategies could be automatic or done while you’re asleep?
Even though you won’t be able to burn off all your excess fat while you’re sleeping, there are a couple of useful hacks you can use that will massively impact your efforts and the results you can achieve while you’re getting your Zs.
In general, humans burn a certain amount of calories during a good night’s sleep – a 150-pound person can burn as much as 400 calories during 7-8 hours of sleep! But there’s also a ton of research out there backing the strategies you’re about to learn and touting them as secret hacks for reducing fat and losing weight… let’s take a look.
#1 SLEEPING IN A COLD(er than usual) ROOM…
While those 400 calories the average person burns during sleep will translate to fat loss if given enough time, science shows us that sleeping in a room with a colder temperature not only helps us get better rest but also boosts our metabolism and changes the way our bodies *store* fat.
A study done in 2014 took participants and tested their bodies after sleeping in rooms with varying temperatures over a period of 4 months.
They found that when sleeping at 18.8ºC, participants displayed a 40% increase in their volume of brown fat and a 10 percent increase in metabolic fat activity. Even though these changes returned to normal after a month of sleeping at a normal 23.8ºC, these changes give us insights into the fact that sleeping in colder rooms forces the body to produce more energy to heat itself, therefore burning more calories.
#2 TRY OOLONG TEA…
Yes, yes, we know drinking caffeine before bed screws up with your sleep quality, but there’s actually one exception.
Oolong tea, according to a study recently published in the Journal Nutrients, is that exception.
Researchers in Japan took a look at the effects of oolong tea consumption when compared to traditional caffeine when it came to energy and fat metabolism. They found that both types of caffeine aided fat breakdown – but oolong tea kept this fat-burning effect going throughout the night, whereas traditional caffeine didn’t.
And most importantly, people who drank oolong tea before bed didn’t have any trouble falling asleep despite the amount of caffeine they’ve just consumed. And while more studies need to be done, oolong tea seems to be very promising as a fat-burning afternoon drink.
#3 PROTEIN BEFORE BED…
Consuming enough protein throughout the day, whether you work out or not, is vital for muscle building and other bodily functions. While some people experience digestive problems if they go for a protein shake in the afternoon (especially if there are added sweeteners,) using a protein that’s free of additives and low in fiber can be a great way to lose extra weight while you’re sleeping.
This is because studies published in Frontiers in Nutrition discovered that protein, when consumed just before sleep, boosted muscle protein synthesis rates.
This means that not only can protein before bed boost your overall exercise results, but it also allows you to build muscle more effectively, and in turn, burn more calories while you’re sleeping.
#4 CHOOSE A BEDTIME… AND DON’T HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON!
Whether you’re sleeping in a room that’s hot or cold, establishing a consistent and productive bedtime schedule is one of the best things you can do for your body… and your weight.
Yes, that includes the weekends. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every night/day not only has a tremendous impact on your sleep quality (and helps you get more restful sleep,) but it also helps your body regulate hormones better.
When you set a consistent pattern into place (and skip snoozing,) the hormones that control how awake or sleepy you can do a much better job of balancing themselves for your productivity throughout the day. Melatonin and cortisol play a major role in sleep duration, daytime alertness, and, you guessed it, fat storage.
That’s why establishing a schedule allows your brain and your body to anticipate sleep correctly and optimize your entire body and hormones for better sleep quality, which in turn helps you make the most out of your sleep and get more restful sleep even if you’re still sleeping the same number of hours every night.
That being said, it’s still what you do throughout the day that matters the most. Creating healthy habits, following a sustainable program, and then using the tactics and strategies you’ve learned to give your progress a little boost is the right way you should be approaching your weight loss goals.