Want the easiest way possible to speed up your metabolism?  Catch some more zzzzz’s!

It’s true.   In 1999 the University of Chicago did a study with eleven lean young men.  They had them sleep eight hours for the first three nights. Then for sixteen nights the men slept only four hours, between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Within a week their hormones that regulate weight were seriously out of whack and they showed the levels of insulin and cortisol usually associated with aging issues.  (New moms –this may be why it feels like your babies age you almost overnight!)   After a recovery period of sufficient sleep, their hormones went back to normal.

Other studies have confirmed this as well.  If you don’t sleep enough, your metabolism slows to a crawl. Your thyroid doesn’t function as well.  Your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin and you have too much sugar in your bloodstream.

Besides, you tend to reach for a sugary snack in a desperate bid for energy when you are exhausted.  After a brief “high” you crash and matters are worse than ever.  Since you have a high level of cortisol in your system, those calories are packed around your belly.

So, get some sleep!  It will speed your fat loss plan along tomorrow!

Eating to live and living for Christ,

Susan Jordan Brown