Sleeping Gets Hormonal

That's right: it’s all hormones! If you’ve read any of my articles regarding sleep and weight loss, then you know the medical fact that spending an ample amount of time getting shuteye is essential to helping your body get rid of those unwanted pounds. But have you ever wondering how it works? Read on as I try to make sense of this amazing process.

Our bodies are filled with all kinds of hormones that are responsible for doing any number of things. Two hormones; leptin and ghrelin, are predominantly responsible for influences on your appetite. In other words, these two hormones make you feel either hungry or satiated. Ghrelin is responsible for making you to feel hungry and leptin alerts your brain to the sensation that you are “full” and have had enough to eat.

Here’s where the problem with sleep deprivation begins. A lack of sleep can result in your leptin levels to plummet and your ghrelin levels to rise. The result being that you feel hungry more often than you ought to and, when you finally get to eat, your brain doesn’t clue into the notion that you've had enough to eat until you are over fed.

Have too many sleepless nights and you can imagine the damage that can be done to all the hard work you've put into your healthy living plan. Over the next few postings, I will blog more how you can get the most of your sleep patterns. In the mean time, I’ll be making plans to go to bed early tonight. ; )

Until then - Live Life Well,

John Aaron Villarreal
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cure, treat or prevent disease. Please consult your physician
prior to starting any exercise or diet program.

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