Sleep well first: Sleep and weight loss

With changes in appetite hormones, sleep loss begins to affect our food choices and the way our brains perceive food.

The researchers found that compared to the time during good sleep, when sleep was restricted, the same volunteers’ food-craving brain regions were more active.

This could explain why sleep-deprived people eat snacks more frequently and tend to choose sweets.

The amount of sleep you get also affects your metabolism, especially the metabolism of glucose (sugar).

After meal, the body releases insulin, a hormone that helps process glucose in the blood. But sleep deprivation impairs the body's response to insulin, reducing its ability to absorb glucose.

We may be able to restore hormone levels by occasionally catching up on sleep, but in the long run, this can lead to unhealthy conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Studies have shown that four hours of sleep is enough to impair the body’s insulin response to glucose intake in healthy young adults.

People who are lack of appetite seek out excessive rewards and tend to choose foods high in glucose, so impaired insulin responses can make things worse.

Fortunately, physical activity has shown prospect to resist poor sleep. Despite this, there is no conclusive evidence that long-term physical activity can help us counteract the effects of sleep deprivation.

Therefore, sleep, along with diet and physical exercise, should be considered as an essential element in a healthy lifestyle.