Discover the crucial role of sleep in weight management.
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Looking for an excuse to stay in bed a little longer? While diet and exercise are key to losing weight, it turns out that getting enough sleep is an important part of your weight-loss journey.
"There is no question that good quality and a sufficient duration of sleep are beneficial to reaching or maintaining a healthy weight," says Peter Polos, MD, PhD, sleep medicine specialist and associate professor of internal medicine at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in Nutley, New Jersey.
There are a number of reasons why this is true, but one big one is that lack of sleep can throw your diet and exercise routines off course. If you've ever gotten a poor night's rest and found yourself reaching for chips and sweets the next day, you've seen this in action.
Read on to learn why the body responds that way and what you can do to optimize your sleep to stay on track with your weight goals.
How Sleep May Affect Weight Loss
There are several ways in which not getting enough sleep can affect weight loss, or even cause weight gain.
It Throws You Off-Balance
"Getting too little sleep contributes to weight gain by upsetting the balance between how much we eat and how much fuel we burn," says Shanon Makekau, MD, a pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist at Kaiser Permanente in Honolulu.
One clinical trial of 80 overweight adults who habitually slept less than 6.5 hours per night found that a two-week sleep extension intervention significantly reduced their daily energy intake by approximately 270 calories. The participants expended the same amount of energy during the day, resulting in a negative energy balance, which can lead to weight loss.
It Can Make You Hungrier the Next Day
Sleep deprivation may lead to increased levels of the neurotransmitter ghrelin, which makes you feel hungry, and lower levels of leptin, which makes you feel full. "This can result in increased appetite, and hence weight gain," Dr. Polos says.
You Have More Time to Eat
If you're not sleeping as much, you're awake more hours of the day and have more opportunities to eat, Dr. Makekau says.
You Tend to Snack More
To make matters worse, the foods you may reach for when you're sleep deprived, such as donuts and fried food, are often not the healthiest choices. "Sleep-deprived individuals tend to eat foods with greater amounts of carbohydrates and calories," Polos says.
One narrative review noted that disturbed sleeping patterns have been shown to lead to an increase in energy (calorie) intake, mainly from snacking, especially on foods rich in fat and carbohydrates.
One the other hand, getting more sleep can lead to healthier food choices. "Getting enough good-quality sleep supports daytime energy, mood, concentration, and motivation," Makekau says. "All of these factors play an important role in making good choices during the daytime."
You Move Less When You're Tired
"People who don't get enough sleep are more sedentary and are less likely to engage in moderate to vigorous activities such as sports or exercise," Makekau says. Think of the last time you got only five or six hours of sleep. You likely struggled to get through the day and were not raring to go to the gym to work out.
What the Science Says About Sleep and Weight Loss
Many studies support the connection between sleeping too little and weight gain, or improving sleep and losing weight.
One cross-sectional study of nearly 2,500 participants found that sleeping less than seven hours increased the rate of overweight and obesity nearly twofold compared to sleeping seven to nine hours.
Another observational study of 125 adults who were overweight or obese found that better sleep health was associated with greater weight and fat loss.
5 Tips for Better Sleep When You're Trying to Lose Weight
Ready to commit to logging more sleep at night? Here are some tips that can help you snooze more and avoid packing on pounds.
Exercise for at least 20 minutes every day. Working out daily can promote energy usage in the body and increase body temperature, which in turn can help you sleep soundly at night. Just don't exercise too close to bedtime or it could backfire and make it tough to settle down.
Eat well. Certain foods promote sleep, including walnuts, almonds, turkey, and fatty fish, says Kristin Gillespie, RD, a contributor for Exercise With Style based in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Spicy and fatty foods can have the opposite effect, she says.
Keep your bedroom dark. Being exposed to artificial light while sleeping, such as from TV, devices, or a bedside lamp, is associated with an increased risk of weight gain and obesity.
Avoid eating right before bedtime. One small crossover trial found that late eating increases wake-time hunger, decreases wake-time energy expenditure and leptin (which makes you feel full), and may favor increased fat storage and obesity risk.
Go to bed early. Adults who are chronically sleep deprived and go to bed late may be more likely to gain weight due to greater daily caloric intake and consuming calories later in the evening.
The Takeaway
Sleeping too little can cause you to eat more, which can lead to weight gain, while sleeping more can cause you to reduce your caloric intake, promoting weight loss.
Sleep deprivation may lead to increased levels of the neurotransmitter ghrelin, which makes you feel hungry, and lower levels of leptin, which makes you feel full.
Disturbed sleeping patterns have been shown to lead to an increase in calorie intake, mainly from snacking, especially on foods rich in fat and carbohydrates.
Getting better sleep can help you avoid weight gain, and also give you more energy during the day to exercise and make healthier food choices.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
Tasali E et al. Effect of Sleep Extension on Objectively Assessed Energy Intake Among Adults With Overweight in Real-life Settings A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Internal Medicine. February 7 2022.
Rob Newsom. Sleep and Weight Loss. Sleep Foundation. April 11, 2024.
Papatriantafyllou E et al. Sleep Deprivation: Effects on Weight Loss and Weight Loss Maintenance. Nutrients. April 2022.
Li Q. The association between sleep duration and excess body weight of the American adult population: a cross-sectional study of the national health and nutrition examination survey 2015–2016. BMC Public Health. February 11, 2021.
Kline CE et al. The association between sleep health and weight change during a 12-month behavioral weight loss intervention. International Journal of Obesity. July 7, 2021.
Eric Suni. 20 Tips for How to Sleep Better. Sleep Foundation. December 8, 2023.
Vujovic N et al. Late isocaloric eating increases hunger, decreases energy expenditure, and modifies metabolic pathways in adults with overweight and obesity. Cell Metabolism. October 4, 2022.
Chester Wu, MD, is double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine. He cares for patients through his private practice in Houston, where he provides evaluations, medication management, and therapy for psychiatric and sleep medicine conditions.
After training at the Baylor College of Medicine and Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Wu established the first sleep medicine program within a psychiatric system in the United States while at the Menninger Clinic in Houston.
Moira Lawler is a journalist who has spent more than a decade covering a range of health and lifestyle topics, including women's health, nutrition, fitness, mental health, and travel. She received a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband, two young children, and a giant brown labradoodle.
