181: Sleep, Hormones & Fat Loss

We aren't getting enough sleep. We wear our fatigue (and talk about it) like it is a badge of honor. It's not. You're not tough. You're not hardcore. You're damaging your long-term health and dramatically impeding your fat loss. If you haven't guessed, we're talking about sleep, hormones and fat loss on today's episode. The average American is only getting 5-7 hours of sleep each night. That doesn't make a warrior, it makes a hormonally imbalanced, hungry person prone to fat storage, muscle loss and disease. I hope that late-night TV is worth it! Seriously though - this is really important stuff. Sleep deprivation, even moderate sleep deprivation over just a few short days impacts your hormones, impairs your metabolism, increases your appetite and changes the way the food you eat is metabolized. In today's episode I'll be talking about 3 of the significant fat loss related changes initiated by mild sleep deprivation. http://primalpotential.com/181-sleep-hormones-fat-loss Sleep,  Hormones and Fat Loss Today we're diving into the nitty gritty of how sleep deprivation impacts your hormones and fat loss. Lack of sleep changes how the food you eat is metabolized Mild sleep deprivation exaggerates the post-prandial blood sugar response. This means that when sleep deprived, you'll see a more significant blood sugar increase than you would after eating the same meal when well rested. Lack of sleep also impairs pancreatic function, leading to insulin resistance. These effects are seen after just a few days of mild sleep deprivation. Lack of sleep increases your appetite & decreases your feelings of satiety Lack of sleep disturbs the ratio of ghrelin to leptin, the hormones which manage hunger and satiety. This means that when you are even mildly sleep deprived, you experience more hunger and less satiety. Human studies show increases in appetite up to 40% after mild, short-term sleep deprivation. Lack of sleep impairs your cellular fat burning machinery Human growth hormone is one of our night-shift hormones. It is primarily produced & secreted while we sleep and is responsible for growth, recovery and cellular repair. When we aren't getting enough sleep, we aren't allowing growth hormone to do it's job, resulting in lower muscle mass, higher fat mass and reduced fat burning abilities.