Why Weight Gain Could Be Affecting Your Sleep

Weight and sleep interconnected and that fact is oftentimes overlooked.  If you are having issues sleeping or wake up frequently at night, did you gain weight recently? If you have, you are not alone. Many studies have shown that weight gain does lead to poor sleep and can impact REM sleep, due to hormonal imbalances and sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea. 

Connection Between Poor Quality Sleep and Weight Gain

It is a vicious cycle of poor-quality sleep and gaining weight. Sleep deprivation disrupts the hormones regulating hunger – leptin and ghrelin. That increases your cravings to eat high calorie food while tends to suppress the energy. Thus, you gain weight and that in turn further disrupts the circadian rhythm. Let’s look over in detail how gaining weight can affect your sleep cycle:

High risk of sleep apnea

Obstructive Sleep Apnea is one of the key reasons of poor sleep and weight gain. This happens when there are layers of fat and tissue around the throat and neck, which pressurize the airway when asleep. That narrows the airways and leads to fragmented sleep due to pauses in breathing during sleep. This causes snoring and waking up gasping to breathe and disrupts your sleep cycle. 

As per studies on OSA, even a 10% increase in body weight can put you on a high risk to developing sleep apnea. Even if you are not aware about the micro-wakings at night, daytime fatigue and sleep deprivation are an indication that you may have sleep apnea. 

Disruptions in hormonal levels

If you have suddenly started craving high calorie diet that is rich in fats and sugar, you must have gained weight. And that can alter the main hormones that regulate your sleep cycle. These hormones, namely insulin, melatonin, leptin and ghrelin have a key role to play in signalling stress, hunger and sleep. Here is more information about the effect of hormones on obesity:

• Leptin: This is the hormone that controls the feeling of fullness and tells the brain you are full. In obese individuals, the hormone becomes less effective leading to increased hunger and little appetite control. 
  
• Cortisol: This is the stress hormone leading to rise in fat deposits in the midriff and interferes with the sleep cycle as it puts you in an ‘alert’ mode.
  
• Insulin resistance: This is common in obese individuals and are often diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. It is associated with low blood sugar regulation and difficulty in sleeping, insomnia and properly.  
  
• Ghrelin: The hunger hormone increases and you tend to eat more in the night. This further compound the weight gain. 

Sleeping position and physical discomfort

When you are obese, it can be difficult to find the right position to sleep and there is constant discomfort. Sleeping on the stomach may cause discomfort for individuals with fat around the abdomen, putting pressure on the diaphragm and the lungs. It can make breathing difficult. Some of the discomforts include: 

• GERD or acid reflux worsens when you are laying on your back
• Joint pain increases due to pressure on the back, hips and knees 
• Due to layers of fat on the body, it insulates and causes you to feel hot all the time, disrupting your sleep at night
• Obesity and weight gain can make changing positions difficult reducing flexibility and limits mobility 

Increased Swelling and Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is one of the key factors to consider for obesity. Fat tissue releases cytokines that promote inflammation along with storing energy. These cytokines interfere with the body’s ability to maintain regular sleep cycle, especially deep sleep stages . 

Sleep and inflammation

• IL-6 and CRP (C-reactive protein) are elevated in obese individuals
• These protein markers lead to poor sleep and reduce hours of sleep 
• Chronic inflammation leads to risk of depression, cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome

Thus, to reduce inflammation, you need to change your diet, lose weight and exercise regularly to enhance sleep time and quality of REM sleep.

Psychological stress and mood disorder

In most cases, weight gain leads to low self-esteem, depression and anxiety. These mental health issues can have a deep impact on your sleep. Some of these factors include:

• Negative thoughts while trying to sleep
• Body image issues along with social stigma can lead to stress and insomnia
• Emotional eating plays a part in staying up at night

Poor sleep can worsen mood disorders, leading to vicious cycle of insomnia and sleeplessness, which leads to mental health issues. 

Disruption of circadian rhythm

Gaining weight can impact circadian rhythm. Those who are overweight are more likely to have a delayed sleep phase syndrome – sleep late and wake up late. This can cause sleep deprivation and contribute to poor productivity at work. Over time, the disrupted circadian rhythm can lead to poor quality of restful sleep. Some of the factors that can disrupt it are:

• Sedentary lifestyle
• No exposure to natural sunlight
• Metabolic syndrome which affects the production of melatonin
• Irregular meal times

Break The Vicious Cycle

If you have put on weight and it is affecting your sleep, significant lifestyle changes, even small lifestyle changes can make a difference. Some tips include:

• Lose weight: 5% to 10% reduction in body weight can improve sleep and reduce symptoms of sleep apnea.
• Sleep hygiene:  It is important to sleep for at least 7-8 hours every night. It helps to go to bed and wake up at consistently the same time. That reinforces the circadian rhythm. 
• Eat healthy: It is good to eat whole grains, protein and increase fiber intake. Go easy on processed carbs, reduce sugar intake and try to limit alcohol. 
• Daily exercise: Exercise enhances sleep quality and helps lose weight. Try to get 30 minutes of exercise every day. 
• No electronics in the bedroom: Blue light inhibits the production of melatonin and that can keep you awake longer.

Conclusion

It can be seen that gaining weight has a direct impact on the quality of sleep. From hormonal imbalances to physical discomfort and psychological distress, sleep deprivation is real. By addressing weight gain through proper diet, exercise, and mental wellness along with maintaining a sleep schedule, you can stay healthy.