How Sleep Affects Hormones and Our Metabolism

When it comes to our overall health, we tend to take care of a lot of things that can have an impact on our wellbeing, but there is one thing we rarely consider as essential. Sleep. Getting enough hours of sleep every night is probably the most significant thing you can do for yourself and your health. But somehow we rarely connect our poor sleeping habits to our health concerns.

The thing is, the most dangerous consequences of unhealthy sleep routine are not those dark undereye circles because those serious consequences come from inside, and they are not visible at first. Sleep deprivation attacks us from the inside, so it is not easy to recognize how bad the situation really is in the very beginning.

The Power of Sleep

Sleep, as well as the natural switch of lightness and darkness, have an important role in regulating the release of several hormones and our metabolism. For example, leptin, ghrelin, growth hormone, melatonin and cortisol are all connected to sleep and our circadian rhythm. When we do not get enough shut-eye time, it reflects negatively on our hormones and metabolism. Also, it often leads to obesity, insulin resistance, hormonal disbalance, diabetes, etc.

Ideally, we should spend one-third of our lives, or eight out of every 24 hours sleeping. However, due to various reasons, many people fail to do so. One particularly vulnerable group are shift workers, who are pretty much condemned on sleep deprivation, and irregular sleep and wake cycle. Circadian rhythm, also known as our inner clock, works by following the natural shift of day and night, which is something that shift workers cannot always achieve.

Which Hormones Are Tightly Connected to Sleep

A decent night of sleep regulates many things and processes in our body, so it is no wonder why our hormones can go crazy after just one night without it. So let's see which hormones are affected the most and what can happen when our hormones are out of balance.

• The release of growth hormone occurs while we are snoozing, which is the main reason why children and teenagers need to sleep at night, so they can grow and develop properly. People who have disturbed sleep have a lower release of growth hormone, and sometimes in severe cases, they need therapy for growth hormone replacement.

• Melatonin is another hormone that is tightly connected to our sleep schedule. The release of melatonin is correlated to the biological night time, so when the night falls, our pineal gland releases melatonin. But, if you are up, under bright, artificial light, the production of melatonin is going to be significantly lower, that is why melatonin is known as the Dracula of hormones because it only shows off during the dark.

• Another essential hormone is called cortisol, and it is also known as a stress hormone, in charge of our mood, fear, and motivation, but it also plays an important role in the regulation of blood pressure, sugar, and the sleep-wake cycle. Lack of sleep increases our production of cortisol, which then can trigger other problems like anxiety, depression, weight gain, etc.

• Leptin and Ghrelin are two hormones that are crucial for maintaining healthy eating habits. Leptin is in charge of our feelings of satiety, while ghrelin controls appetite. Sleep deprivation puts both of these hormone levels out of balance by lowering the production of leptin, and at the same time, increasing levels of ghrelin. This means that we will feel more hungry, even though we are already full.

• Although insulin is mainly known as the diabetes hormone, it's function is to store fat, and lack of sleep impairs that by making us temporarily resistant to insulin. Lower resistance means that our body is going to produce more of it, which leads to storing higher amounts of fat and gaining weight.

How Our Metabolism Suffers When We Do Not Sleep

When we sleep less, not only that we eat more, but also our metabolism works slower. The metabolism is usually the slowest during the night, which is why we should not eat late. So not only it works slower, and it is unable to burn all the calories and transform them into energy, but we also have the urge to eat more and more due to disrupted hormones.

As we have seen, the main consequence of all hormonal disbalances is weight gain. Although this can seem insignificant in the beginning, obesity is a huge problem in the contemporary world, and we often are not aware of the reasons that lead to it. We notice the problem when it is already a serious threat to our health. Increased sleep debt, lack of physical activity, irregular sleep routine, late-night snacks, and junk food are all responsible for the fact that the number of obese people is growing in the world.

And since it is a question of sleep, a lot of people do not take it too seriously, but it is actually really hard to get back on track with regular sleeping habits once it all goes out of control. And it is incredible how much damage poor sleep can cause to our system. Didn't we all use to love sleep when we were kids and babies, sleeping for hours and hours every day? When did we stop to enjoy it?

How to Start Sleeping Like a Baby, Again

Sleeping for approximately eight hours every day should not be that hard; the hard thing is to change our bad habits and find some time to sleep between our jobs, Netflix, friends, and the internet. So let's see what we can do to fix it.

• Create a bedtime routine that includes not using your phone, laptop, or TV, at least one hour before bedtime.
• Go to bed and wake up every morning at the same time. Even during the weekends, sleeping in will disrupt your schedule sooner or later.
• Find time to sleep and organize everything else around it. No work after 9 PM, no emails from bed, etc. Make sure you finished everything for the day before your bedtime.
• Say goodbye to late dinners, snacks, ice cream, and junk food after dinner. You would not be able to fall asleep after eating so many carbs.
• No caffeine during the evening and late afternoon. Caffeine stays in our system for hours, so it is essential to avoid it if you want to sleep tight.
• Make sure the room is entirely dark and quiet, use blackout curtains, earplugs, eye masks, anything that will isolate you from your surroundings and induce sleep.

The Bottom Line

Sleeping is such a simple thing, but we allowed the modern ways of fast-paced living and working to make it complicated to get enough sleep. So next time when your mom or grandma says you need to sleep more, do not just eye-roll and laugh at it, do it. It is one of the best advice we should listen to nowadays.