Insomnia will increase your Weight

Insomnia is no fun. But did you know that it can actually contribute to weight gain? You may have just discovered the reason why your fat weight loss efforts have proven fruitless so far. Significant studies tell us that sleeplessness does not directly cause weight gain.

But the conscious activities that some people make to fight the tired, sluggish feelings they have in the day which arise from insomnia may be causing you to gain weight.

Think about it for a minute. You toss and turn during the night, you fight to get to sleep, and when you do, you sleep restlessly. Just when you are experiencing some wonderful deep sleep, your alarm reminds you that you have bills to pay. You get sluggishly out of bed and head to the kitchen, straight for the coffee machine.

Liberal amounts of sugar in your morning java get you started with an energy boost. But 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.

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 fitfully.

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

You should keep a daily journal which chronicles your every daily activity, as well as your sleep patterns at night. This can help your doctor spot poor health patterns which may be 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.

You should also 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 cuts down on water retention which also adds pounds, but it also helps regulate your digestive system helping you to sleep more restfully. Just try not to drink too many liquids within a couple of hours of bedtime. That triggers nighttime potty visits that disturb your 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 making your body horde fat, and weight gain is a natural result.