Lack of sleep has become a global problem in the past decade. Everywhere around the world people are sleeping less. This trend has increased in the recent years starting a viscious cycle of sleep deprivation. Many shrug off lack of sleep and say they will only become irratible. Lack of sleep can also play a role in weight gain.



The balance of your hormones affects your weight. The most prevalent hormones that affect weight are two that stimulate and control your appetite. The Ghrelin hormone is pumping through your body when you feel hungry. The leptin hormone tells you that you are full and don't require additional food.

When you don't sleep enough your ghrelin and leptin hormones are out of balance. They don't function properly. Lack of sleep causes the levels of the ghrelin hormone to increase in your system. This causes you to feel hungry to a much greater extent.

Lack of sleep will make you feel tired and ravenous. This is a result of the decrease of amount of leptin in your system. This turns into a cylce that leads to the less sleep means the more apt you are to gain weight.

Don't think that your hormones have a great effect on the size of your pants? Think about this: there is a link between obesity and lack of sleep. This link is not a nice one. In fact, the link has been found to pair together obesity and lack of sleep in Americans. This link was found by Standford University and the University of Wisconsin.

How can lack of sleep add pounds to your waistline. Don't you burn more calories while you are awake? Yes, you do burn more calories while awake then sleeping. However, the you often eat sugary snack foods when you could be sleeping. These calories overshadow the fact that you are awake. This is due to the decrease of leptin in your system.

Sleeping is a better option also because we burn 60-65% of all calories while we are getting shut eye. Since the smaller majority of calories are burned while awake we should get to bed. Note: There are exceptions to this rule.

Do you think the majority of Americans would agree that weight gain is a result of lack of sleep? Probably not. They need to look at the obesity and lack of sleep link and may make the connection. Getting quailty sleep on a daily basis should be at the top of your to-do list. Be wary of making this a New Year's resolution because you most likely will not get much sleep on New Year's Eve. If you are diligently following your diet and your belt still won't budge then focus on your sleep habits. More sleep will help you feel rejuvenated and lighter!