Slim Medical - Weight Loss Center
Weight loss and sleep:
The maintenance of a normal body weight and the loss of abnormal fat deposits through a controlled weight loss protocol are now shown to be related to sleep patterns. The importance of sleep is slowly becoming more and more apparent as research is being done.
The normal circadian rhythms of sleep and wakefulness have an effect upon the general health of a person. Many different organ systems are effected when there is an interruption in the body’s normal requirement for sleep. One of those systems effected is the endocrinologic - or hormonal - system. Hormones play a very important role in weight gain, weight loss, and the maintenance of normal and abnormal fat deposits.
Anything that interferes with the hormonal system can cause weight gain or weight loss, irrespective of the total food intake and energy expenditure (calorie input and calorie output). Loss of a normal sleep cycle is one factor that interferes with the hormonal system and effects weight gain. Anything less than 7-8 hours of sleep has been shown to cause weight gain and deleteriously interfere with weight loss diet protocols. It is thought that the loss of sleep causes a stress response that increases body cortisol levels, which in turn promote the deposit of abnormal fat and neutralize attempts at weight loss.
In addition, the fatigue that is caused by sleep loss can also stimulate an increase in appetite, which in turn leads to weight gain or thwarts weight loss regiments. These are just the direct effects of sleep loss on weight gain, which in turn effects the general health of the person. On top of that, sleep loss leads to other deleterious health effects by affecting most organ systems, increasing the risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. These effects are independent of its negative effects upon weight loss. It is therefore a given that in order to have success with any weight loss diet, and in order to seek general health, one needs to seriously designate an adequate amount of time every night to sleep.
Doctor Nasseri is the director of the weight loss clinic Slim Medical, and specializes in physician supervised weight loss diet programs, helping overweight patients achieve their desired weight loss. He is located in Santa Ana, but serves patients from all of Southern California, including Orange County, San Bernardino, San Diego, Riverside, Temecula, and Los Angeles, and from the following cities: