DOES INSOMNIA CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR WEIGHT GAIN?

I am frequently asked, "Does insomnia contribute to your weight gain?"

Yes, it actually contributes to weight gain. You may have just discovered the reason why your fat burning and weight loss efforts have proven fruitless so far.

Significant studies have found that the actual insomnia does not cause weight gain by itself. It's the other things we do during the day to treat the feelings of exhaustion and fatigue that cause weight gain.

Chew on this: You spend terrible nights just getting snippets of poor sleep as best as you can. Just when it seems you are falling into a deep sleep, the alarm lets you know it is time for another day of dragging your weary carcass around.

First things first. You head for the coffee machine in the kitchen to get that morning hit of caffein to jolt your system into some semblance of ambition and you likely spike that coffee with a bunch of sugar because you know that will give you some energy.

After only a couple of hours at work, you need to reach for a sweet candy treat, doughnut or sugar-filled snack for another shot of energy. Your workday finally comes to an end, and you are still so beat and tired that you decide to skip your scheduled trip to the gymnasium.

Does Insomnia Contribute To Your Weight Gain Directly?

When you arrive home, there are kids and dinner and dishes and other responsibilities that you must tend to. You certainly cannot do that if you are sleepy, so you reach for an energy drink or soda. By the time that you are set to go to bed, you are so sugar-packed and caffeine-injected that there is no possible way you will sleep well.

So your insomnia begins once again, nurturing this sleepless cycle of waking behaviors practically begging for an insomnia episode night after night. How can you fight this behavior working hand-in-hand with insomnia to cause fat and weight gain?

Keep a daily journal that chronicles your every daily activity, as well as your sleep patterns at night. This can help your doctor spot poor health patterns creating your insomnia in the first place. And if this journal shows that you are not personally responsible for your insomnia, light therapy can be prescribed as an effective treatment for resetting your natural clock.
Try to never eat or drink foods with sugar and/or caffeine 8 hours before you plan on going to sleep.
It has also been proven that sleeping and waking at the same time each day and night can create a comfortable rhythm which leads to better sleep, and in turn to better daily performance.

Make sure that you are drinking at least 2 quarts (8 cups) of water daily. This actually reduces water retention because your body is sufficiently hydrated. This also helps regulate your digestive system, which means you sleep more restfully. It also means you won't be getting up to go pee thus disturbing you sleep.

Doctors know that sleeplessness by itself does not magically cause your body to gain weight. But sleeplessness and insomnia can cause daily behaviors on your part causing your body horde fat, and weight gain is a natural result.

By the way, do you want to learn more to answer your question of "does insomnia contribute to weight gain"? That link will take to a video that will offer tons more information. I hope it helps you in your search for a treatment for insomnia.

Other Healing Articles By Mokie To Help You Beat Insomnia: