Why is sleep advice so often given for weight loss?

[TwiggyShrimp]

Why do people tell others to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night to lose weight?

It's a weird thing to say, IMO.

How many people are actively going out of their way to get less sleep?

There are things that cause people to get less sleep like hormones, calorie restriction, environmental factors, stress, medical issues etc.

Every time I see this advice, I wonder if there are people out there just gallivanting at the casinos or clubbing at 2 a.m. and thinking this will help with weight loss until they are told otherwise...

It's just such a strange statement to make because a) no one I have ever known goes out of their way to not sleep b) the extraneous factors, as mentioned above c) the casual way people give this advice as if it is actually helpful

Sleep directly controls ghrelin (the "hunger" hormone) and leptin(the "fullness" hormone). When you are sleep-deprived, ghrelin spikes and leptin drops, making you feel hungrier and less satisfied after eating.

when I worked night shifts, I being tired made me really hungry.

As well as points made by PP if you are tired you are also more likely to crave junk food and make bad food decisions i.e. harder to stick to a diet.

It's not so much that people are going out of their way not to sleep, but that part of weight loss is trying to reduce the factors that cause you to gain weight in the first place - and if you are sleeping badly, that's something to try to address.

But you can't control working night shifts so what do you take away from the advice to "get more sleep," when you can't do that in the way suggested due to your job?

That's what I don't understand. It's not like we're actively avoiding sleep.

I'm hyperthyroid, possibly perimenopause and I am not actively trying to avoid my pillow. I just can't sleep so people telling me to "just do it" is frustrating!

I don't know why!

It's not easy but it absolutely does affect diet, stress, cortisol etc.

A lot of people can do more to help themselves with a good bedtime routine, no screens before bed, avoiding certain foods in the evening or not eating late if that affects things, avoiding or cutting down on alcohol and caffeine. Some people don't sleep, some sleep but are still tired etc.

Ok, those points make sense. Thanks for clarifying. Was bloody doing my nut in trying to understand who is running away from their bed at night! 😆

I know that one of the reasons I became very fat was because as an overstretched, exhausted parent carer I nevertheless insisted on staying up too late as a stubborn way to reclaim a bit of time for myself. I compounded my own exhaustion and was also very likely to binge during this window. When my STBXH left I had to go to bed shortly after my children simply to function but that additional sleep really did make all the difference for me.

Sleep does impact weight via cortisol etc as above. However, imo it’s a marginal impact- it’s basically a bio hack, where if you’re struggling over a couple of lbs but are otherwise an ideal weight you might find it easier to lose it if you nail your sleep, and longer term sleep gives you energy and balance, if you can’t get it right.

but it doesn’t actually actively make you lose weight- no one is going to lose 3 stone by getting a brilliant 8 hours 😁