However, there is one downside to a lack of sleep of which many people aren’t aware: weight gain. Yes, you read that right. A study conducted by Professor Ken Wright of Colorado Boulder University found that sleep deprivation can cause a person to indirectly gain up to two pounds in a week.

Survival Mode

Sleep deprivation sends a signal that your body is in distress. And when the body is in distress, it tends to slow your metabolism to conserve energy. Hence, you may find it hard to kick those extra pounds because your body just isn’t metabolizing your food as fast as it should; it is storing this food as fat instead.

Case of the Munchies

Lack of sleep also throws your hormones into whack. Specifically, it increases the amount of ghrelin in your body, a hormone that tells you when you are hungry. Even worse, inadequate sleep causes a decrease in leptin, which controls your feelings of satiation. In short, you feel hungry all the time and can’t seem to feel full—the perfect recipe for weight gain!

Sweet Conundrum

Another weight-gaining effect of insufficient sleep is increased blood sugar. When you are sleep deprived, the mitochondria in your cells—i.e., your digestion of protein and carbs—starts shutting down. This allows sugar or glucose to stay longer in your bloodstream, which in turn causes insulin levels to spike. Unfortunately, high insulin levels also mean that your body is more likely to store calories as fat.

Wrong Kind of Comfort

Too often, people compensate for three hours of sleep by wolfing down three donuts. Indeed, being tired often means failing to make the right eating decisions, which makes you more likely to turn to junk food for comfort.

Indeed, these effects are yet another reason why you should seek sufficient sleep each night. Critical to this pursuit is a comfortable mattress. When you visit a mattress store in San Diego, keep in mind that you are not just investing on something to sleep on—you are investing in your overall well-being.

Sources:

A lack of sleep really DOES make you fat: Sleep deprivation can cause weight gain of 2lb in under a week, dailymail.co.uk

The Hidden Ways Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to Weight Gain, dailyburn.com

Diabetes, mayoclinic.org