What is the role of sleep in getting rid of weight?

How do you know that you suffer from insomnia?

What is the relationship between a vegetarian diet and weight?

Is the ketogenic diet appropriate to lose weight?

The answers are in this report.

sleep diet

Good sleep is associated with great benefits that go beyond good mood to physical health.

A new study shows that sleeping for less than 6 hours or in poor conditions can negatively affect weight loss attempts, according to a report in Deutsche Welle.

And here by the sleep diet, we mean that the person gets enough sleep, which crowns his efforts in losing weight.

Insomnia and poor sleep are also linked to weight gain, as a result of a person staying awake and eating foods rich in calories at night.

There are many factors that help lose weight, including healthy nutrition and exercise, but there is another important factor, which is good sleep, as a study showed that bad sleep would negatively affect an individual's quest to reduce his weight.

sleep and lose weight

A study conducted by the University of Copenhagen suggests sleeping for long hours in order to contribute to weight loss, and it was conducted on a random sample, and was presented at the European Congress on Obesity, according to the British newspaper, The Guardian (The Guardian).

And poor or uncomfortable sleep was linked, according to previous studies, to diseases and health disorders, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, infections, and others.

Now researchers strongly believe that its negative impact also extends to attempts to reduce weight.

The experiment was conducted on 195 obese adults who followed a low-calorie diet for 8 weeks, and they were able to lose 12% of their weight.

Their sleep was tracked for a year through monitoring tools they wore, and their sleep quality was tracked, as well as some questions answered.

bad sleep

It was found that those who slept less than 6 hours per night experienced an increase in body mass index by 1.3 points compared to those who slept more.

The same is true for those who suffered from poor sleep quality, an increase of 1.2 compared to those who had better conditions (a quiet bedroom, a comfortable bed, an uninterrupted sleep...).

The researchers did not conclude that poor sleep is the primary factor in weight gain, but they suggest that it does affect it negatively.

Several numbers indicate great suffering across the world from few hours of sleep or bad sleep, and among the reasons for this, according to the Guardian, are the excessive use of mobile devices, stress and excessive work.

According to Dr. Eric J. Olson, of the Mayo Clinic, adults need 7 or more hours of sleep each night.

Lack of sleep may gain weight .. These are the signs that prove that you have insomnia

If you are having difficulty falling asleep despite your tiredness and sudden awakening during the night and the inability to fall asleep again for long hours, this is a sign that you suffer from insomnia.

And the French newspaper "Le Figaro" (Le Figaro) quoted Agnès Brion, a psychiatrist specializing in sleep disorders and a former practice attached to the Sleep Pathology Department at the Petit-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris, "A person with insomnia wakes up at night and has difficulty returning to sleep, but may have difficulty sleeping at night or may He gets up very early in the morning. The insomniac wants to sleep and needs it, but he can't."

On the other hand, the insomniac suffers from the repercussions of these disturbances throughout the day.

Insomnia symptoms

"Symptoms of insomnia include fatigue, irritability, memory decline, problems concentrating and sometimes the inability to perform a particular task, as well as physical symptoms such as dark circles or loss of vitality," says Sylvain Danio, a psychologist in behavioral and cognitive therapies.

These disturbances occur at least 3 times per week and persist for more than 3 months.

The psychologist explains that, "After this period, the cause of insomnia is going through a difficult period in life (such as the death of a loved one or facing professional problems) and it goes away as soon as this ordeal is passed. But if the insomnia condition continues even if the cause disappears, it means that the insomnia has become chronic." .

overweight

Chronic insomnia has disturbing health effects, both physical and psychological, resulting in a number of diseases in the long term.

According to Sylvain Danio, "Lack of sleep affects the metabolism and immune system, leading to weight gain and an increased risk of infections."

Causes of insomnia

Like many other diseases, there are some genetic factors that increase the risk of developing insomnia.

Psychiatrist Anias Brion points out that "anxiety stems from some aspects of the personality: for example, a person who suffers from anxiety is more likely to have sleep disturbances. Regardless of these two aspects, insomnia is often due to a traumatic life event, and problems in Work and fears...".

The psychologist adds that the insomniac changes his behavior: Instead of saying that he wants to go to bed because he wants to sleep, he says that he wants to sleep.

This causes the mind to focus on the desire to sleep, which in turn creates a feeling of fatigue, increases the heart rate, and ultimately the inability to sleep.”

insomnia solutions

To overcome insomnia, it is important to adopt some healthy habits.

You should keep getting up in the morning at a specific time, and avoid staying in bed for a long time without sleeping, "otherwise the brain will make the bed associated with lack of sleep."

Brion stresses that it is necessary to take care of exposure to natural light to regulate the internal clock.

And if you stay in the dark of the room for a long time in the morning, the body will not distinguish between sleep and wake times, resulting in a disturbance in the biological clock.

And if you can't fall asleep if you wake up at night within 15 minutes, it's a good idea to get out of bed and go back to it as soon as you feel sleepy again.

Are you in an emotional state that allows you to go back to sleep?

Sylvain Daniou stresses the importance of "asking yourself if you are in an emotional state that allows you to fall back to sleep, because trying to fall asleep is counterproductive and generates a nervous excitement that prevents you from falling asleep."

It is advised to avoid exposure to screen light in the evening and at night.

And psychologist Brion explains that "the light of screens prevents the body from producing the hormone melatonin, which regulates hormonal secretions and our biological clock. We must not overlook the psychological factors that may cause insomnia, such as addiction to responding to messages or watching soap operas."

The vicious circle of drugs

Medications help manage insomnia, but they are not a solution to chronic insomnia.

According to Anias Brion, "the body gets used to medications and as soon as you stop taking them, the state of insomnia returns and you have to take them again, which puts the patient in a vicious circle. For this reason, it is best to consult a sleep specialist and follow psychological and behavioral treatments to find effective long-term solutions."

Vegetarian diet and weight

The German Society for Nutrition said that the vegetarian diet is characterized by great health benefits, as it reduces the risk of obesity and related diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

A vegetarian diet may also play a role in the prevention of some cancerous diseases thanks to cutting out red meat, which raises the risk of cancer, in addition to vegetables and fruits rich in antioxidants, which are a shield against cancer.

The association pointed out the need to pay attention to supplying the body with important nutrients, which are found in animal sources, especially iron, calcium and vitamin B12, by taking nutritional supplements under the supervision of a doctor.

Ketogenic diet and weight

The German Federal Center for Nutrition explained that the "Ketogenic Diet" is based on reducing carbohydrates and increasing fat, whereby the amount of carbohydrates (bread and pasta) is reduced while an increase in foods rich in fat (meat, eggs, cheese and cream).

Burn fat

The German center added that a low-carb diet helps to lose weight, explaining that when you reduce carbohydrates, which represent the body's first source of energy, the body searches for other sources of energy, namely fats, as the body burns fat stores. The body on the one hand, and the burning of fat that is supplied to the body through nutrition, on the other hand.

Thus, the body is supplied with energy.

In this diet, a diet rich in fat does not lead to weight gain thanks to the dispensation of carbohydrates.

The high content of proteins and vegetables in this diet helps in losing weight.

Health risks of the ketogenic diet

The center pointed out that this diet entails some health risks, as it lacks balance on the one hand, as well as the side effects that may result from it, as a diet rich in fats may lead to deposits in blood vessels, which in turn raises the risk of Incidence of heart attacks and strokes.

The ketogenic diet also increases the level of uric acid in the body, which in turn increases the risk of gout.

Therefore, the German Center stressed the need to consult a doctor before following this diet to avoid possible severe consequences.