Sleeping an extra hour a day is equivalent to eating 3 bowls less? ! Here is the secret to "lying down and losing weight" →

In order to lose weight, I believe many people have tried various methods: dieting, exercise, and even praying...

But have you ever thought that there is a simple and effective way to lose weight, which is to "lose weight while sleeping"!

This method sounds incredible, so is there really such a wonderful thing? How can you sleep more and lose weight?

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Can you really lose weight by lying down?

The study found that researchers recruited 80 overweight volunteers to conduct sleep improvement tests. Without any intervention of diet or exercise guidance, it was found that these overweight people who habitually slept less than 6.5 hours, after increasing their sleep time by 1.2 hours, their total daily calorie intake decreased by 270 kcal, which is equivalent to eating one less chicken burger or 3 small bowls of rice. If compared with the amount of exercise, women need to swim for 30 minutes, jog for 40 minutes, or skip rope for 36 minutes to consume it. After 4 weeks, the extended sleep group lost 0.48 kg.

It turns out that getting more sleep every day can reduce intake, thereby reducing weight to a certain extent. I believe many people have been tempted by such a simple way to lose weight, but we would like to remind you that the sample data of this study is small and the experimental time is not long, so the accuracy of the research conclusions needs further verification. Don't be blindly excited.

However, this study undoubtedly provides new ideas for researchers to explore the relationship between sleep and weight loss, and also brings new hope to many "lazy people" who want to lose weight. A good night's sleep is indeed very important for human health. So, based on current research, how should we sleep to lose weight?

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How can I lose weight while sleeping?

1. Get enough sleep

Sleep accounts for about 1/3 of our life. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults sleep 7 to 9 hours a day, while the Healthy China Action (2019-2030) recommends that Chinese adults sleep an average of 7 to 8 hours a day. Whether it is 7 to 9 or 7-8 hours, it is a statistically average sleep time, which varies from person to person.

How to judge? It's very simple. As long as you wake up the next day and feel that you can stay awake most of the time and maintain good enough concentration without affecting your current work and life, it means that you slept well.

2. Have deep sleep

Deep sleep usually accounts for 13% to 23% of the entire sleep cycle. When we enter the deep sleep stage, the secretion of leptin in the body will increase accordingly. This hormone has a significant effect on burning fat and promoting weight loss, and is undoubtedly our powerful ally on the road to weight loss. In addition, the secretion of hunger hormone will also decrease, which naturally makes us eat less. On the contrary, if there is insufficient sleep or poor sleep quality, it will lead to overactivity of the sympathetic nerves, which will in turn increase the secretion of hunger hormone, which will increase appetite by up to 45%.

You can use a sports bracelet or smart watch to help detect your deep sleep state on a daily basis. In addition, a simpler way to judge is that when you wake up, you feel refreshed and not sleepy, which usually means that you have enough deep sleep.

3. Sleep regularly

Indeed, it is very important to maintain a relatively fixed sleep time. You should not go to bed at 10 o'clock tonight, but stay up until 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning tomorrow, or even stay up all night the day after tomorrow and make up for sleep during the day. If you can imitate the life rhythm of the ancients who "work at sunrise and rest at sunset", it will undoubtedly help improve the quality of sleep.

However, according to the data of the "White Paper on Sleep Health of Chinese Residents (2024)", the current general bedtime of residents has been postponed to after midnight, the sleep time at night is generally insufficient, and staying up late is common. You should know that lack of sleep will make you ugly and stupid, so it is recommended that you try to develop a regular sleep pattern to maintain a healthy sleep state.

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In addition to getting a good night's sleep, you also need to pay attention to these

Indeed, lying down to sleep is a good way to lose weight. However, if you really want to lose weight, you need to do more.

The underlying logic of weight loss is to increase the energy gap. In plain language, if you consume less than you burn, you lose weight. There are two common ways: eat less to reduce intake; move more to increase consumption. Before eating less and moving more, you also need to solve a basic problem, which is to deal with your emotions and "reduce your heart."

1How to “reduce your mind”?

When we are under great pressure, depressed, self-deprecating, and self-abandoning, we often crave to comfort ourselves with food, which leads to overeating and causes overweight and obesity. When we are under great pressure, the cortisol content in the body will rise, which will not only interfere with the body's decomposition of fat, but also hinder the release of signals from our good friend "leptin" to the brain, and also affect the weight loss effect. Therefore, to effectively lose weight, we must first deal with our emotions, so as to clear the obstacles on the road to weight loss.

Accept yourself, please yourself, and reconcile with yourself

When it comes to losing weight, you need to know why you want to lose weight. In fact, being fat or thin is just a choice. If being fat doesn't matter to you and it doesn't affect your health, there's no need to lose weight just for the sake of losing weight. If you really want to lose a little weight, then make some changes and take it slow. You have to know that we are unique and imperfect.

Set short-term weight loss goals and do one thing at a time

When the goal setting cycle is too long and the number of goals is too large, coupled with the pressure of work and the burden of life, it often leads to the accumulation of many worries and pressures, which will shake confidence and even cause previous efforts to go to waste. Set short-term small goals, which don't have to be too difficult. Give yourself a reward when you complete them. For example, if you don't drink sweet drinks for three days, reward yourself with a piece of dark chocolate; or if you exercise for 20 minutes, reward yourself with a bouquet of flowers. Slowly increase the difficulty, and your focus will be on the current small goals, so you won't be too anxious.

Actively relieve emotions

Life is full of disappointments. Doing housework such as washing clothes and mopping the floor is also a way to relieve stress. Or try meditation, yoga, mindfulness and other relaxing exercises, which can not only relieve stress but also help lose weight. Or talking to friends and family can also help.

2How to eat less?

Eat slower and only until you are 70% to 80% full

Studies have shown that slowing down the speed of eating can reduce BMI or reduce the risk of weight gain, for example, by reducing the size of each bite of food, increasing the number of chewing times, and pausing before eating.

Reasonable eating order

Eat large foods first, then small foods; eat liquids first, then solid foods; eat low-calorie foods first, then high-calorie foods. For example, vegetables and fruits are large in size and low in calories, so they can be eaten first; soups are more filling, so they can be drunk before meals; meats are high in calories, so they can be eaten later. Adjusting the order in this way can give you a stronger sense of fullness.

Increase intake of foods rich in dietary fiber

Dietary fiber can increase satiety and reduce gastric emptying speed. For example, replace 1/3 to 1/2 of white rice, noodles, and white steamed bread with corn, sweet potatoes, purple sweet potatoes, whole grain rice (brown rice, mung bean rice), whole wheat bread, and pure oatmeal; choose more green leafy vegetables (such as rapeseed, spinach, lettuce, green amaranth, etc.) and low-sugar fruits (such as cherries, grapes, mulberries, apricots, mangoes, strawberries, etc.).

Increase protein intake appropriately

High-protein foods make people feel fuller than foods rich in carbohydrates and fat, thus suppressing appetite. Protein-rich foods include fish, poultry, eggs, lean meat, etc. Women who want to lose weight should pay special attention to supplementing calcium and iron. Improper weight loss methods will cause calcium and iron loss. Calcium-rich foods include milk and dairy products, soy products, etc.; iron-rich foods include animal liver, animal blood, lean meat, etc.

3. How to do more exercise?

Diet is the soul of weight loss, and exercise is the companion of the soul of weight loss; proper exercise can consume energy and also cheer up your mood. Treat housework as exercise, such as cooking, washing dishes, mopping the floor, and tidying clothes mentioned above; when commuting to and from get off work, change from slow walking to fast walking, because fast walking is the exercise with the highest success rate for weight loss; take the escalator instead of taking the stairs, etc. In short, sleeping well and "lying down to lose weight" is really a blessing for lazy people. However, weight loss is not a one-time thing, but a kind of life based on daily life, and eventually develops a good and healthy lifestyle. The core of weight loss is to be healthier, more confident, and happier, rather than to increase troubles. Reconcile with yourself, whether it is from diet, exercise, sleep, or mentality, it is to improve the health index.

References

[1] Tasali E, Wroblewski K, Kahn E, Kilkus J, Schoeller DA. Effect of Sleep Extension on Objectively Assessed Energy Intake Among Adults With Overweight in Real-life Settings: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2022 Feb 7:e218098.

[2] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents (2022)[M]. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2022.

[3]https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/slow-wave-sleep

[4] Zhang Tingting, trans. To love me is to understand me[M]. Beijing: Beijing United Publishing Company, 2022.

[5] Tanihara S, Imatoh T, Miyazaki M, et al. Retrospective longitudinal study on the relationship between 8-year weight change and current eating speed. Appetite, 2011, 57(1):179-183.

[6] Chinese Nutrition Society. Blue Book on Obesity Prevention and Control in China[M]. Beijing: Peking University Medical Press, 2019.

Planning and production

Author: Wang Yanli, Chinese registered nutritionist

Review丨Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Planning丨Zhong Yanping

Editor: Zhong Yanping

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin