The quality of our sleep can significantly influence our weight. In turn, what we eat and at what time affects our ability to sleep well. This relationship between sleep, food and weight is fed back in such a way that it is very difficult for a diet to be effective if we do not combine it with a good night’s rest. Some simple tricks will help you in your weight loss:
1. Better, sleep in complete darkness
Close the curtains, put away the cell phone, turn off the television. In complete darkness, your body produces a hormone called melatonin. Melatonin makes you feel more sleepy, but it also helps build more brown fat. To use brown fat, the body uses many more calories than other types of fat. Thus, you can generate melatonin while you sleep and this can help you lose a few kilos in a sustained manner.
2. Try consuming tryptophan
Many scientific studies have echoed the importance of the amino acid known as tryptophan for deep sleep. This compound can be found in proteins of animal origin. Therefore, eating eggs, meat or milk for dinner can be positive for a deeper sleep. Recent research shows that prolonged sleep – 8.5 hours – promotes weight loss, compared to less deep sleep.
3. Eat little and early
This is key to sleeping well. If you eat a long and late dinner, your body will still be full of energy when you go to sleep, and logically it will be more difficult for you to fall asleep. If, like most, you have to get up early, then you will be more hungry after hours due to the lack of hours of rest. You shouldn’t go to bed hungry either, you have to find a balance.
4. How about a milkshake?
A protein shake before bed can jump-start your metabolism, according to a study from the University of Florida. Any snack that includes 30 grams of protein before bed will make you burn more fat.
5. Lower the temperature
The temperature of a room for a really peaceful sleep should be between 15 and 18 degrees. It’s cool to sleep naked -in this case, a temperature of about 30 degrees would be ideal-, but you have to make sure you don’t get too hot or too cold. As collected in a recent study, a suitable temperature for sleeping or even something cold stimulates the creation of brown fat already mentioned.
