Get lots of sleep

[Penny]

It's really important that you get lots of sleep every night. It's not only important to your overall health, but it also helps you to burn off more calories and encourages better eating habits. Sleeping should not be underestimated in terms of its importance. It is something that we have given a low priority, but that needs to work its way back up again

Adequate sleep helps weight loss

[silvertoes]

If you cannot pinpoint a specific reason for your inability to sleep, look at your eating habits, since nutrition plays an important role in establishing good sleeping patterns. As a first step, try keeping a food and drink diary. This will help you to examine the context of your sleeping problems and may also indicate what you are doing right when you do get a good night's sleep. :)

[kellykatt]

That's absolutely true, silvertoes. Also, look at the eating routine itself, not just the nutrition aspect (which is very important).

Ask yourself if you're eating within 3 hours of bedtime, if you're having caffeine too close to bedtime (coffee after dinner, chocolate, tea, or cola, for example). Even if you're eating relatively healthy, caffeine is a stimulant and it will give you too much energy right when you want to fall asleep.

Another problem is with drinking alcohol near bedtime. It might make you sleepy and it might even knock you out, but it causes restless sleep, can cause you to wake up during the night (if only to go to the bathroom) and decreases your sleep quality.

[jkate456]

Sleep and Weight Loss

It's really important that you get lots of sleep every night. It's not only important to your overall health, but it also helps you to burn off more calories and encourages better eating habits. Sleeping should not be underestimated in terms of its importance. It is something that we have given a low priority, but that needs to work its way back up again

Adequate sleep helps weight loss

Yes proper sleep is an important factor for your good health as well as in your weight loss program.

[CuJo1992]

Does anyone know if it is a cumulative thing or if you need to get the exact same amount every day for sleep to be the most effective for helping with weight loss? I don't get very much sleep for about four nights per week, but for the other three, I get a huge number of hours. That is, I get 4-5 hours for monday through thursday, but then I get 10-11 hours on Friday through Sunday. Does that all work out in the end?

[silvertoes]

Does anyone know if it is a cumulative thing or if you need to get the exact same amount every day for sleep to be the most effective for helping with weight loss? I don't get very much sleep for about four nights per week, but for the other three, I get a huge number of hours. That is, I get 4-5 hours for monday through thursday, but then I get 10-11 hours on Friday through Sunday. Does that all work out in the end?

I think so, as long as you can still manage to sleep even a few hours.

[bigbobby]

Sleep should be made a priority. The worse you sleep one night, the harder it is to sleep well the next night. If you had a bad sleep several nights, you're so overtired you can't settle enough to rest really well.