Did you know that your body is always burning calories even when you’re asleep?
Hi viewers and welcome back to Bestie!
Contrary to popular belief, sleep is not an inactive state.
During sleep your body is doing lots of important work.
This includes repairing cells and tissues, restoring function to the immune system, and
consolidating memories.
There are ways by which you can harness your overnight sleep to help your body burn more
fat.
And in today’s video, we will tell you what they are.
From making your room as dark as possible, doing resistance training, eating a small
dinner, sleeping early to trying aromatherapy and more, watch till the end to learn about
all of them.
Resistance Training: One of the best ways to lose weight while sleeping is doing some
pre-slumber resistance training.
Burning fat is all about boosting your metabolism, and resistance training is great for this.
According to a study, subjects who performed resistance exercises enjoyed a higher resting
metabolic rate for an average of 16 hours following their workout.
Your resistance training session doesn’t have to be excessive.
A simple weight lifting routine will suffice, even if it doesn’t push you to the limit.
What’s your resistance training exercise?
Tell us quickly in the comments section down below!
Eat small meals throughout the day: Eat little and often, is a favourite tip from trainers
and dieticians the world over.
You’ll be glad to hear this is a great way of boosting your nocturnal weight loss.
Eating small meals frequently throughout the day serves to keep your metabolism ticking.
It ensures your body continues burning fat throughout the night.
Of course, these meals need to be healthy and nutritious for this technique to work.
As well as boosting your metabolism while you’re asleep, this method will ensure your
appetite stays under control.
This will reduce any cravings you have when you wake up in the morning.
Drink a casein shake: While proteins such as whey are perfect for a post workout boost,
their rapid-absorbing nature means they’re not as effective before you hit the hay.
Instead, choose casein protein if you want to boost your overnight fat burning.
It is a gradually digested protein that can take your body around six or eight hours to
break down.
This means your metabolism will be kept active throughout the night.
So you’ll wake up feeling energetic instead of starving.
Casein’s fat burning credentials were confirmed in a study, which discovered a boost in overnight
metabolic rate following consumption of the protein.
Similarly, researchers found that it enhances overnight protein synthesis, which helps to
repair and strengthen muscles.
When you consider that every extra pound of muscle burns 30-35 calories every day, this
is an added bonus of this super-protein.
Make your room as dark as possible: Exposure to light before bedtime has serious implications
for your health.
Sleeping in total darkness releases the hormone melatonin, which helps regulate sleep, blood
pressure, body temperature, and stress levels.
A 10-year study found that women who were excessively exposed to light at bedtime were
22 percent more likely to develop breast cancer.
Another study linked bedtime light exposure to higher rates of depression which can lead
to weight gain.
Melatonin also assists in the production of brown fat which is key to metabolizing calories.
So shut off your electronics an hour before bed and make your room as dark as possible
while you sleep.
Give yourself a bedtime: You know you need to get enough sleep, but somehow a busy schedule
or a new show always gets in the way of your beauty rest.
Here’s motivation to hit the sack on time: by committing to a healthy number of snoozing
hours per night, you burn more calories throughout the day, even when you’re inactive.
A study found that well-rested people’s resting energy expenditure was 5 per cent
higher than that of their tired peers.
They also burned 20 per cent more calories after eating than sleep skippers.
Lack of sleep makes fat cells less sensitive to insulin, a metabolic change linked with
obesity.
Eat a small dinner: There's an old saying: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a lord
and dinner like pauper.
There really is some truth in it.
Eating a big dinner too close to bedtime will take up your body's energy trying to digest
instead of detoxing and recharging.
So focus on a smaller dinner and a larger breakfast.
And reserve your snacking for mornings and afternoons.
If you suffer from ailments like heartburn, eating a heavy meal before bed is likely to
keep you up.
A recent study found that participants who ate a late-night snack broke down less fat
than when they ate the same amount of calories earlier in the day.
So, keep dinner light and small — but don't go to bed starving either.
Don’t drink alcohol before bed: Limit drinking
alcohol before bed as it can cause sleep disruption.
Not to mention you can easily add a few hundred calories to your daily total.
An evening cocktail may sound like it would be super relaxing but even one alcoholic drink
too close to bedtime can impede your body's ability to burn calories.
This is because, instead of focusing on burning fat as it should, your body is busy trying
to metabolize the alcohol instead.
So while a glass of wine with dinner is fine, leave it at that.
Turn down the thermostat: Sleeping in cooler temperatures can help you burn more calories
and lose weight overnight.
According to a study, people who slept in rooms cooled to 66 degrees for a month increased
the amount of calorie-burning brown fat in their bodies by 42 percent.
Their ability to metabolize fat also jumped by 10 percent.
Even better, their insulin sensitivity improved, potentially lowering their risk of developing
type 2 diabetes.
Sleep Early: Sleeping early sounds pretty easy.
All you need to do is hit the bed earlier than your normal routine and drift off to
a blissful dream.
However, night is usually the most peaceful time of the entire day, when you get the time
to actually catch up with what’s going on.
That comes with its own cost, because scientists have also provided evidence for the release
of hormones that increase food cravings within sleep deprived people.
This will of course lead to weight gain.
The longer you stay up, the more you are going to eat.
Better yet, just go to sleep and remove the temptation altogether.
Activate your body’s thinning fats: Contrary to popular belief, not all fats are bad for
your body.
Certain fats, known commonly as thinning fats, activate calorie burning proteins which helps
you to fight obesity.
Other than sleeping in a cool bedroom, you
can trigger the release of such fats by maintaining
a consistent sleep and wake cycle.
This is when your circadian rhythm undergoes no disruption.
It also releases the sleep hormone melatonin, which is known for its ability to promote
weight loss.
Drink more water: It may seem a bit contradictory, but one of the best ways to lose water weight
is to actually drink more water.
That's because if you're constantly dehydrated, your body tends to retain more water in an
attempt to prevent its water levels getting too low.
Water also boosts your metabolism, cleanses your body of waste and acts as an appetite
suppressant.
The amount of water needed can vary from person to person.
So simply drink when you're thirsty and stop when you feel well hydrated.
Apart from helping you lose weight while sleeping, water has a lot of other advantages.
Drinking it as soon as you wake up will go a long way in keeping you healthy.
To know more, watch this video titled “Drink Water On An Empty Stomach Immediately After
Waking Up”
Now back to ways to lose weight while you’re sleeping.
Try Aromatherapy: Certain scents can make your mouth water, and others can actually
suppress your appetite.
A study found that people who sniffed peppermint every two hours lost an average of 5 pounds
a month.
Banana, green apple, and vanilla had similar effects.
Consider burning a minty candle until you head to bed to fill the room with slimming
smells.
If you don’t want to bother with blowing out candles before you turn down the covers,
try adding a few drops of peppermint oil to your pillow.
Take a hot shower an hour before bed: A hot shower is excellent for ensuring a good night’s
sleep.
This is because it can help relieve tension and relax sore muscles.
Additionally, it can increase the level of oxytocin which can be very soothing and promote
fat burning.
The heat from the shower also gives your body temperature a lift, resulting in a quick drop
in temp when you get out and dry off.
This temperature drop helps relax your entire system.
Sleep Soundly: It sounds counter-intuitive, but you actually burn more calories during
sleep than while lying in bed awake.
This is because your brain is highly active during the REM stages.
Plus, during REM sleep your internal temperature spikes, which means your body is working harder
to produce heat.
One study found that men lost more than three times as much weight over eight hours of sleep
than eight hours of lying awake.
To ensure maximum REM sleep, keep a regular schedule so that your body is used to conking
out when you lay down for the night.
Get some sunlight: Do you struggle to fall asleep?
Making a point to step outside a few times a day and get a little sunlight may help.
The reason has to do with your body's circadian rhythms, which orchestrate and oversee our
internal clock and schedule.
Light and darkness influence these rhythms.
So, incorporating brief snippets of sunlight into your day can help remind your body it's
time to be awake and alert.
The goal is that as the day ends and gets darker, your circadian rhythms will respond
by helping your body relax and fall asleep easier.
In order to lose weight while you’re sleeping, the most important thing you need to do is...get
a good night’s sleep, of course!
And here are some helpful tricks so you get the best sleep possible, take a look at:
Life Hacks To Get A Good Night's Sleep
Or
Foods You Should And Shouldn't Eat Before You Go To Sleep
These 2 videos will definitely help you sleep your way towards better health and weight
loss.
Do you have trouble falling asleep?
What tips do you use to sleep better?
Let us know in the comments section below!