10 Reasons to Get More Sleep

1. May help you maintain or lose weight

Numerous studies have associated short sleep — defined as sleeping fewer than 7 hours per night — with a greater risk of weight gain and a higher body mass index (BMI) (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source).

In fact, a 2020 analysis found that adults who slept fewer than 7 hours per night had a whopping 41% increased risk of developing obesity. Meanwhile, sleeping longer didn’t increase the risk (6Trusted Source).

The effect of sleep on weight gain is believed to be affected by numerous factors, including hormones and motivation to exercise (5Trusted Source).

For instance, sleep deprivation increases levels of ghrelin and decreases levels of leptin. Ghrelin is a hormone that makes us feel hungry while leptin makes us feel full. This may cause us to feel hungrier and overeat (7Trusted Source).

This is supported by various studies that have shown that sleep-deprived individuals have a bigger appetite and tend to eat more calories (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).

What’s more, to compensate for lack of energy, sleep deprivation may make you crave foods that are higher in sugar and fat, due to their higher calorie content (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).

To make matters worse, feeling tired after a night of too little sleep may leave you feeling unmotivated to hit the gym, go for a walk, or do whichever other physical activity you enjoy.

So, prioritizing sleep may support healthy body weight.