Having a good night’s sleep helps people lose weight

Having a good night’s sleep helps people to lose weight most effectively, according to a new survey.

It revealed three quarters of dieters who had regular sleep patterns found it easier to shed pounds from their waistline.

And four-fifths of good sleepers were also likely to follow consistent routines in their eating habits – having three meals a day at regular times, which also aids weight loss.

The most effective dieters sleep between seven hours 30 minutes and eight hours a night, concluded the research of 1,000 British people.

A survey of 1,000 adults found three quarters of dieters who had regular sleep patterns found it easier to shed pounds from their waistline

The survey, commissioned by Forza Supplements, found the optimum time to go to bed was 10.10pm – this allows 20 minutes to nod off.

It also allows 90 minutes for the most restorative non-REM (rapid eye movement) sleep which is best achieved before midnight. 

Lee Smith, managing director of Forza Supplements, said: ‘They call it beauty sleep for a very good reason – eight hours a night really does help us to lose weight and live more healthily.

‘This new research shows that the key to successful dieting is discipline and routine – you need to adopt good habits and stick with them.

LACK OF SLEEP LEADS TO FEWER DREAMS

Millions of adults are missing out on sleep and dreams to the detriment of our health, a sleep and dream expert claimed in October.

Throughout the night, we pass through four stages of sleep several times. 

We do the majority of our dreaming during the fourth stage, called the ‘rapid-eye movement’ (REM) phase.

Research found that about one in three don’t get enough sleep in general.

Missing out on dreaming that occurs during REM-sleep can have particularly dire consequences for both our mental and physical health. 

‘If you are sleeping erratically and getting up in the night, chances are you are a boozer who is also visiting the fridge while successful dieters are upstairs in bed fast asleep.’ 

The quiz monitored the sleep patterns of dieters to gauge common factors which contributed to weight gain.

Poor sleepers (those sleeping for less than seven hours a night) were found to have the most chaotic eating patterns.

They were also more prone to diet lapses and were more likely to exceed their weekly limits for alcohol consumption.

Two-thirds of this group (64 per cent) admitted snacking in between meals, the survey concluded.

And more than half (58 per cent) said they had difficultly sticking to a diet and a similar figure (54 per cent) said they regularly drank more than they should.

In contrast, only 17 per cent of good sleepers were snackers, 72 per cent found they could stick to a diet plan and just 13 per cent regularly exceeded alcohol limits.

A third of poor sleepers (33 per cent) complained that they were more likely to put on weight because they were awake for longer and had more time to eat. 



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