A patient tells me she can’t sleep. He husband snores and it keeps her awake almost every night. If she falls asleep before he does, she doesn’t always wake up. But even then, his snoring can be so loud, she wakes up. Clearly, she needs her sleep. And he needs to see a sleep specialist! Because good sleep is how our physical body and mind reboots. It’s also important to weight control. And because she came to see me to help with weight loss, we are talking about her sleep routine. Getting good sleep will help keep her weight in check. Good sleep and healthy body weight are connected. It’s complicated but here are a few basics.

We know from studies that losing sleep during weight loss efforts reduces the amount of weight lost and prompts overeating. Short sleep (less than 7 hours per night) puts you at greater risk for weight gain and a higher Body Mass Index (BMI). Several studies show that a lack of adequate sleep leads to weight gain. We believe this has to do with hormones and motivation to exercise. Let me explain.

Two neurotransmitters related to appetite and hunger are affected by sleep. A neurotransmitter called ghrelin is related to our feeling of hunger. When you don’t sleep well, ghrelin increases making you feel hungrier, which often leads to overeating. Sleep deprived people then have a bigger appetite and eat more calories. Then there is leptin- a neurotransmitter responsible for making you feel full. When you are sleep deprived, leptin decreases, meaning you don’t feel full. This decrease of leptin is telling your body to keep eating. Obviously, eating more to feel full results in excess calorie intake, another problem with weight gain.

Another issue related to sleep deprivation is that you lack energy. This lack of energy can create food cravings, especially for those foods high in sugar and fat. Then, when we crave, we tend to consume more calories leading to weight gain. And a lack of energy and feeling tired also makes you unmotivated to work out, walk the neighborhood or do whatever you do to move more. The more sedentary we are, the fewer calories we burn.

Also, consider this. The less sleep you get, the more opportunities there are to overeat, especially late night.

The bottom line is that if you want to control your weight, get at least 7 + hours of good sleep a night. To do so, you need a regular wake up and go to sleep time. Relax before bedtime and avoid rigorous exercise, bright white light or blue light (computer and cell phone screens). Also avoid caffeine and alcohol before you sleep.

So I am prescribing sleep to my patient as part of her weight loss strategies. Her husband is headed to a sleep clinic to address his snoring and she is getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night. This was an important step to helping her meet her goal of weight loss.