How a lack of restful sleep can make your exercise and nutrition journey more difficult

September 9th, 2014 by


1. When you’re sleep deprived, leptin (a hormone that tells you that you’re full) decreases.

2. When you’re sleep deprived, ghrelin (a hormone that tells you that you’re hungry) increases.

3. Being awake later simply provides more waking hours in a day for you to consume food.

4. Not having enough sleep can also make it more difficult to resist cravings because your willpower is decreased. Given the above 3 points, this final point creates a recipe for a nutritional disaster.

Beyond that, being tired can make it hard to get up in the morning if you have to train early in the gym or just make it difficult to give it your all when you train.

All in all, proper sleep is an often overlooked variable in the exercise and nutrition picture, but if you work to get enough restful sleep you’ll definitely be helping to set yourself up for success.