Lack of sleep and its impact on weight gain

The modern pace of life often forces people to reduce their sleep time, not suspecting how this can affect their health. Lack of sleep, as recent studies show, can cause not only fatigue, irritability and loss of concentration, but also serious metabolic changes that lead to excess weight gain.

Research conducted by scientists confirms that lack of sleep disrupts the functioning of insulin, a hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar levels. In one experiment, a man and a woman were placed in laboratory conditions for eight days. The first four days they slept as usual, but the next four their sleep was limited to only 4.5 hours per day. The results showed that with lack of sleep, the participants' insulin levels decreased by 16%, and the sensitivity of fat cells to this hormone fell by 30%.

These data indicate that lack of sleep can seriously affect the body's ability to process sugar and fats, which ultimately leads to weight gain. A constant lack of sleep provokes the accumulation of fat deposits and increases the risk of obesity. Insulin dysfunction is also associated with an increased likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

Sleep is an important component not only for restoring energy, but also for maintaining normal metabolism. When a person systematically does not get enough sleep, his body begins to function in a stressful mode, which affects hormonal processes and provokes the accumulation of fat, especially in the abdominal area.

In addition, lack of sleep increases the level of the hormone ghrelin, which stimulates the feeling of hunger, and reduces the level of leptin, a hormone responsible for the feeling of satiety. This leads to the fact that people suffering from a lack of sleep are more likely to experience cravings for high-calorie and unhealthy foods, which only aggravates the problem of excess weight.

Thus, good sleep is not only the key to a good mood and high productivity, but also one of the most important factors contributing to maintaining a healthy weight.