August 2009 - Sleeping More Helps You Eat Less

Back to Newsletter

Who would guess that sleeping more can actually help you eat less and possibly lose weight? The fact is, if you don’t get enough good sleep, or your sleeping is interrupted, or you work a night job and sleep days, your body may not be producing enough leptin. One of the most common reasons clients seek hypnosis is for its effectiveness in weight loss. Here’s what you need to know.

Scientists at Rockefeller University in New York City discovered the hormone leptin, which is produced by fat cells and passes through the circulatory system to the brain. Leptin signals the brain and lets it know when food has filled the body. Thus, leptin is an appetite suppressant. Leptin also has some effect on body temperature, so it actually increases the amount of calories burned.

Here’s what obesity researchers Jules Hirsch,Jeffrey Friedman, and Rudolph Leibel did: They bred mice that were unable to produce leptin. The result? Those mice all ate nonstop and became obese!

How does this help us humans who want to lose weight? We need to be sure we are producing enough leptin to let us know when we are satiated. When do humans produce leptin? During sleep – and not just the moment we fall asleep, but only after about 6 or seven hours of sleep. If you are sleep deprived, your supply of leptin may be reduced and you will feel hungry and eat more.

Source: Karine Spiegel, Rachel Leproult, Mireille L’Hermite-Balériaux, Georges Copinschi, Plamen D. Penev, and Eve Van Cauter, "Leptin Levels Are Dependent on Sleep Duration: Relationships with Sympathovagal Balance, Carbohydrate Regulation, Cortisol, and Thyrotropin." The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism89: 5762-5771 (November 2004).

Back to Newsletter