Power of early bedtime for better health

In our pursuit of health, where we meticulously monitor our diets and engage in vigorous workouts, there's a small yet significant aspect we often overlook – a good night's sleep. Its importance in shaping our body weight often goes unnoticed amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life.

The concept of early to bed early has numerous benefits; we all know about it; some of us are diligent practitioners of it; but those of us who are late bed hitters miss an utmost yield of sleeping early; weight loss. Let’s delve deeper.

The typical urban culture keeps us up till late hours of the day, sometimes work is the reason and on weekends, hanging out and partying late can be labeled as top reasons.

So, when we retire late for a night’s slumber, our human system which is innately designed to function in harmony when we get an adequate night's sleep, starts beeping and signaling chaos as certain hormones of the body get negatively impacted, and putting on extra pounds is the aftermath.

According to a review study published in PubMed Central Journal, lack of sleep causes a rise in appetite hormone ‘ghrelin’ thereby influencing one’s hunger levels and pushing towards sugary and fatty foods. It also leads to a decline in the hormone ‘leptin’; which is responsible for satiation and fullness. There is also a surge in ‘cortisol’; the stress hormone as we know it, that makes the weight loss ride even harder to perpetuate.

Moreover, poor sleep shifts the decision-making abilities of the brain prompting you to make unhealthier lifestyle choices such as munching, excessive snacking, and treating your sleep insufficiencies with comforting food and you keep wondering why despite making all the efforts you aren’t shedding weight.

Likewise, when you hit the bed early, you are likely to have your dinner early as well which means you won’t indulge yourself in piling up your belly with snacks, late-night teas, coffee, or desserts. Moreover, early sleep increases your Resting Metabolic Rate, RMR, (the calories you burn while resting), and that assists greatly in managing weight loss.

The concept of intermittent fasting is also based on having an early dinner and early sleep to transition the body into a state of rest and get the maximum burn during the fasting hours while you sleep soundly. The sooner and more adequate the length of sleep, the better the results that you yearn for.

Subsequently, when you wake up after a sound sleep of good 7-8 hours you find mental clarity in setting your day goals without any grogginess or lethargy to get in the way. You find yourself energetic enough to engage actively in physical activity or workouts that smoothen your weight management journey that is not the case vice-versa when you are surviving on a bare few hours of sleep!