Research Reveals the Role of Sleep Plays a Major Role in Losing Weight

JAKARTA - Until now, losing weight is synonymous with a strict diet and regular exercise. However, the latest scientific research shows that there is one important factor that is often overlooked, namely sleep. Adequate and quality sleep turns out to play a big role in controlling appetite, metabolism, and success in losing weight.

Research in the field of sleep medicine shows that lack of sleep can increase hunger and encourage a person to consume more calories. Conversely, increasing the duration of sleep can actually help reduce food intake naturally.

Esra Tasali, a sleep specialist from the University of Chicago Medicine explained that lack of sleep directly affects the hormones that regulate hunger.

"Lack of sleep increases the urge to eat. When a person is sleep-deprived, the reward center of the brain becomes more active and makes it more difficult to resist the desire to consume high-calorie foods," Tasali said, quoted from the Nature website.

In addition, lack of sleep increases ghrelin levels, a hormone that triggers hunger. As a result, a person will feel hungrier faster and tend to eat more.

"If you don't get enough sleep, ghrelin levels will be higher. You will feel hungrier and consume more calories," explained Tasali.

Then how long is the ideal sleep to help lose weight? In a study conducted on overweight adults, researchers targeted a sleep time of about 8.5 hours in bed each night. The results were quite surprising.

"We found that extending sleep time by an average of 1.2 hours per night can reduce energy intake by about 270 calories per day, without changes in diet or physical activity," said Tasali.

In general, adults are advised to sleep at least 7 to 8 hours per night. Even adding 30 minutes of sleep has shown a decrease in calorie consumption.

"Every increase in sleep duration seems to bring benefits. Even an extra half-hour of sleep has an impact," he said.

In addition to duration, sleep quality also plays an important role. Deep sleep serves to repair body cells, regulate hormones, and keep the metabolism healthy.

"Slow-wave sleep or deep sleep is a major marker of sleep quality and is very important for metabolism and hormone release," explains Tasali.

Research shows that disturbances in deep sleep can trigger prediabetic signs in just a few days, even in healthy young people.

Lack of sleep makes the body in an unbalanced state. Hunger increases, self-control decreases, and food choices tend to lead to foods high in sugar and fat.

"Our ability to resist the urge to eat decreases when we are sleep-deprived," Tasali said.

In the long run, this habit can trigger weight gain and increase the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

In the midst of the prevalence of weight loss drugs, sleep remains the simplest and safest strategy.

"Getting enough sleep can make you feel less hungry and help you choose healthier foods. The good news is, sleep is free, has no side effects, and provides many health benefits," said Tasali.