How Important Is Sleep To Weight Loss?

Sleeping too little, termed "chronic partial sleep loss," hinders weight loss in a myriad of ways. Even if you diet, exercise or both, getting the wrong amount of sleep -- either too much or too little -- will sabotage your efforts. To avoid this frustrating pitfall, aim for 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. Habitually getting the right amount of sleep every night will help your body operate efficiently, giving you the best chance to burn fat and slim down.

Insufficient Sleep and Metabolism

Insufficient sleep slows your metabolism, making it difficult to lose weight. A too-short night of sleep changes the way your body digests foods, the way it processes sugars and carbohydrates and the way it stores those carbs. Even if you if you limit the calories you consume, you won't burn as many calories throughout the day; as a result, you might come out even, instead of creating a calorie deficit. Similarly, even if you exercise, your body will burn calories more slowly.

Insufficient Sleep, Mood and Energy

Lack of sleep leaves you feeling irritable, and it changes the way your body regulates stress hormones. If you eat when you're sad, grumpy or tired, then sleeping too little will increase these urges and lead to higher calorie intake.

Lack of sleep also makes you feel tired, of course, which makes it more difficult to exercise or simply maintain light activity throughout the day. This further slows your metabolism, hindering your weight loss even more.

Insufficient Sleep and Appetite

Sleep helps regulate the hormones that affect your hunger levels, and those hormones become imbalanced when you don't sleep enough, the University of Chicago Medical Center found. Insufficient sleep decreases the hormone that signals fullness by 18 percent, and it increases the hormone that provokes hunger urges by 28 percent. It also increases unhealthy cravings by 24 percent.

Unfortunately, eating more to give your body extra energy when you're tired doesn't work; if you eat more and your metabolism operates more slowly, then you will gain weight consistently.

Weight Loss and Too Much Sleep

Excessive sleeping also hinders weight loss. Although your body needs sleep in order to function properly, sleeping more than necessary only minimizes your activity level. You burn more calories when you're awake, even if you only sit on the couch. Oversleeping can also make you feel sleepier, leading to less activity even during your waking hours.

Sleep and Weight in the Long Term

A study published in "Sleep" journal found that sleeping too much or too little increases your risk of long-term weight gain. The study followed 276 adults for 6 years and found that long- and short-duration sleepers were more than 20 percent more likely to gain weight and become obese. This higher risk even affected people who watched what they ate and remained physically active.

Severe sleep deprivation -- less than four hours each day -- has an even greater effect; it makes you 74 percent more likely to become obese, according to the University of Chicago Medical Center.