BENEFITS OF SLEEP…zzzzz

There are many factors to losing weight in individuals. Sure there is the healthy diet, exercise, and other different components to it, but the amount of sleep also plays a great role in losing weight. Letting your body rest properly can keep you from overeating and from over working your body. Studies show that people who do not get enough sleep tend to have increased blood pressure and a greater risk for heart disease. If the body does not get enough sleep it interferes with the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates and causes high blood levels of glucose, which leads to higher insulin levels and greater body-fat storage. Lack of sleep also drives down leptin levels which in turn causes our body to crave carbohydrates. So we should be getting around 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night to keep this from happening, but it is variable; some of us may only need 6 hours.