We can all agree that exercising regularly is the best way to lose weight and stay healthy. But do we exercise daily? No. Do we sleep daily? Yes. So what could be a better way to lose weight than to do so while we sleep?
We introduce you to 9 amazing ways to actively lose weight more effectively while you sleep comfortably.
9. Drink a protein shake before going to sleep.
Drink a shake with about 30 grams of protein before heading to bed. Research has proven that it helps increase the number of calories the body burns while resting. Protein also aids in muscle repair, and the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn at rest.
8. Eat small dinners.
Avoid eating large meals in the night and abstain from doing so just before sleeping. During deep sleep, our brain emits a growth hormone. If you eat late at night, the growth hormone stores the food in your system as fat instead of fuel.
7. Avoid alcohol.
Drinking alcohol close to bedtime will make your body metabolize the alcohol during your sleep, keeping you from achieving a state of REM, which is when the body burns the most calories. A glass of wine with dinner is OK, but remember to stop drinking alcohol three hours before you go to bed.
6. Set yourself a bedtime.
We all acknowledge that getting an optimal amount of sleep is paramount to our health, and yet busy schedules, movies, and cellphones get in the way of getting sound sleep. Committing to a healthy number of snoozing hours per night (7-8 hours) helps the body to burn more fat. An American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study found that well-rested people burned 20% more calories after eating than those who got less, improper sleep.
5. Avoid exercising before bedtime.
Exercise wakes our body up, making it difficult to achieve a good night’s sleep. Schedule your exercises for the morning. It will wake your body up and keep you energized all day. But if for some reason you cannot exercise in the morning, do it no less than four hours before bed.
4. Shut down all bedroom electronics.
Research conducted at Harvard University found that short-wavelength blue light emitted by tablets and smartphones prohibit the body’s production of the sleep-aiding hormone, melatonin. Another study conducted by Singapore based researchers found that long hours of television viewing caused higher levels of triglycerides (associated with diabetes) and lower levels of adiponectin (a protein that regulates glucose levels and fatty acid breakdown) in the body.
3. Turn down the thermostat.
Sleeping in the subtly cold enhances the effectiveness of our storage of BAT (brown adipose tissues) that helps burn the fat stored in the belly, thereby keeping us warm. A study published in the medical journal, Diabetes, showed that people who slept in rooms with a temperature of around 66 degrees burned 75 more calories than those who slept in warmer rooms.
2. Sleep in complete darkness.
Sleeping in complete darkness assists your body in producing the hormone melatonin, which not only induces good sleep, but it also aids in the production of calorie-burning mitochondria-packed brown fat, according to a study published in the Journal of Pineal Research.
1. Sleep naked.
Though it might sound strange, sleeping naked has many benefits. By keeping your body cool it quickens the body’s fat burning process. Having the body cold while sleeping increases the good fat in the body which helps in the burning of calories.
