The secret benefit of sleep

We all know that everybody needs restorative sleep.

At least seven and a half to nine hours in fact, if you’re an adult.

The benefits of a good night’s uninterrupted rest can:

•  Contribute to feelings of well-being and reduce symptoms of depression.
•  Improve quality of life and may assist us to live longer.
•  Increase concentration and attention span.
•  Assist in regulating blood pressure and reducing inflammation.
•  Affect driving skills positively and thereby reduce accidents.
•  Help to improve memory and mental acuity.
•  Decrease stress levels.

However, probably one of the most interesting benefits of regular, peaceful sleep is the effect it has on metabolism and weight loss.

The ability to lose weight is affected by sleep or, more importantly, the lack of it. This influences two vital hormones, leptin and ghrelin. The more sleep deprived you are, the less leptin your body produces. And the less quality sleep you get, the higher your ghrelin levels. Lack of sleep also lowers your metabolism.

This is significant as ghrelin informs the body when it is time to eat. For people who are on weight loss programmes this is important as ghrelin increases the appeal of high calorie, fattening, sweet foods, such as cake over a healthy salad, for example.

Leptin, on the other hand, is the hormone that tells your body to stop eating. It is known as the ‘starvation’ hormone, or obesity hormone, and works almost like an energy thermostat.

For example, when the leptin level is above a certain threshold, the brain senses sufficient energy. However, when people diet, they consume less and lose fat. This then decreases the production of leptin, and it goes below the regular threshold. This results in the brain sensing starvation, causing you to eat to get your leptin levels back to normal.

However, the problem with people who are overweight is not that they have insufficient amounts of leptin, but that their brains aren’t getting the signal to stop eating. This is known as leptin resistance, which can increase as people put on more weight.

Sleep is essential to restore energy and revitalise health, however, if you are a dieter trying to lose weight, it would also be in your best interests – as well as eating healthy, whole foods and getting regular exercise – to get restful, undisturbed sleep each night.

•  Information courtesy of Zelda Fourie, qualified therapeutic massage therapist and member of the SA Natural Health Practitioners Board (SANHPB).