Everyone is familiar with the consequences that come with not getting enough sleep. From a lack of energy to a fuzzy mind and everything in between, a lack of sleep is no fun. But did you know that the amount of sleep you get each night can also have an effect on weight loss?

When you’re hitting the gym regularly and watching what you eat to try to shed some extra pounds, sleep may be the last thing on your mind. But when you are tired, you are much more likely to make decisions that affect your fitness goals and keep you from losing weight.

Sleep for Health: How Sleep Affects Cellular Growth

A lack of sleep can do more that just make you feel tired. Research shows that the lack of adequate rest can actually have significant effects on your body and interfere with fundamental cellular processes. Specifically, a lack of sleep can disrupt the cellular process that is responsible for physical growth, brain activity and physiological adaptation.

Protein synthesis in the body is a vital process that determines how you grow and how your cells renew themselves. When your sleep cycle is bouncing all over the place, it may create a problem with protein synthesis, which in turn can have negative effects on your brain activity and the way your body functions.

The Importance of Sleep on Cognition

Sleep is also very important for the production of myelin, a mix of proteins and phospholipids that insulate nerve fibers and help with the movement of electrical impulses between cells. When you get enough sleep, your body is better able to produce myelin, but without enough rest, you are more likely to experience cell stress and death. With less cell production, you are more likely to experience a “fuzzy” brain, which may make it harder for you to match a face to a name or have a similar experience.

Sleep and Weight Loss

A lack of sleep can not only negatively affect your brain function, leaving you feeling groggy or cranky, but it can also lead to weight gain. In fact, research suggests that people who get fewer than seven hours of sleep each night are often heavier, more likely to gain weight over time, and have a harder time losing extra weight. So getting enough sleep each night is just as important as your diet and workout routine. Normal sleep patterns help the body burn more calories, boost fat loss, and of course, keep your brain focused.

Relaxation Exercises for Sleep

If you have a hard time falling asleep at night, use a few techniques to help calm your mind and your body. Aside from turning off your TV and other electronic devices, these exercises are the surest way to a good night’s sleep.

Breath Control

Sometimes, simply closing your eyes and noticing your breathing will do the trick. Visualize the air entering and exiting your body through your nose, airways, lungs and back out again. This rhythm can help calm your mind and relax your body, making sleep come quickly.

Guided Imagery

By focusing your attention on an image or story, your mind can stop focusing on worries or thoughts that keep you awake. Try visualizing a scene or memory that you find calming, such as a vacation or a repetitive action, such as the steps to your favorite dance routine. Focus your attention on this image or scenario, allowing your worries to melt away and sleep to come easily.

Sleep and the Fit Five

Sleep is an essential aspect of living a happy and healthy lifestyle. Because of the way that sleep affects the body, we made it an essential component of the Fit Five. The Fit Five is five principles for maintaining a happy healthy lifestyle, eat whole foods, drink plenty of water, get your sleep, exercise consistently, and practice the 90/10 rule.

Kick Start a Healthy Lifestyle

Want to kick start your fitness goals? Here at Courthouse we offer an introductory program called Kick Start. Kick Start is the perfect way to get you started in your health journey, we provide customized meal plans, tailored personal training and easily accessible fitness coaching. With Kick Start, we offer the guidance, all you have to do is show up.

To take the first step to a healthier you click on the link below