Sleep Deprivation and Fat Gain

from a newsletter by Tom Venuto and www.burnthefat.com

a new study published in the December 2007 issue of "Nutrition Research Reviews" says that sleep deprivation can reduce leptin (the anti starvation hormone, also known as an anorexigenic hormone) and increase ghrelin, a stomach hormone that increases hunger.

This makes total sense. Think about it: less sleep equals more awake time. More awake time equals greater energy needs. Greater energy needs can be satisfied by increasing hunger hormones. Leptin and ghrelin are appetite-stimulating hormones.

The human body is incredible and amazingly self-regulating, isnt it?

In addition, when hormones are out of balance, that can affect nutrient paritioning.

Nutrient paritioning refers to where the energy comes from when you have a calorie deficit - fat or lean tissue - and where the energy goes when you are in a calorie surplus - fat or lean tissue.

So, when partitioning hormones are messed up due to sleep deprivation, it's entirely possibly that you are more likely to add fat (not muscle) when in a surplus and lose muscle (not fat) when in a deficit.

This is similar to what happens during stress. Stress also does not "cause" fat gain, but it certainly correlates to fat gain, for similar reasons. Imagine what happens when you are stressed AND sleep deprived?

Some people seem to get by with less sleep than others. I know many people, myself included, who excel physically on 6-7 hours a night, so there is certainly a variation in sleep needs from person to person.

Developing sleep habits that promote deep, high-quality sleep may also reduce sleep needs an hour or two. This includes going to bed and waking up at the same time every night, getting to sleep early and awake early to maximize night time sleeping hours and daylight waking hours, sleeping in a dark room, avoiding alcohol and stimulants prior to bedtime, reducing stress and exercising regularly.

However, in light of past research and the new data that was just published, if in doubt, it's surely better to err on the side of a little more sleep than a little less sleep, if more muscle and less fat is your goal.