14 DAY TRIAL // Given that today’s society is always in a rush, we have been “trained” to think that sleeping a normal 8 hours makes us lazy, for which reason alone we should feel guilty and make up for it later. Nutritionist Alexa Fishback, author of The Daily Fix, tells FitSugar that, far from being so, sleep is also essential when planning to shed some extra weight.
Recent studies have shown that women who sleep less than seven hours per night weigh on average 5 or so pounds more than those who sleep upwards of seven hours, Mrs. Fishback says.
Moreover, she argues, it is also a known fact that the women who sleep more also exercise to a greater extent because they have extra energy, but, what’s more important, they also have faster metabolisms, which means they can eat a greater amount of food without gaining any weight. “Getting a full night’s sleep is key when it comes to wellness and weight management,” the nutritionist explains.
“I am here to tell you to revel in a full night’s sleep and to make it a priority. While it is true that some people can function on less sleep than others, the majority of us need our seven to nine hours each night for maximum functioning capacity. It is good for your body, your joints, your muscles, and your mind. And sleep is a pillar of weight loss!” Mrs. Fishback also underlines.
This is not the first time that the importance of a +7-hour sleep is brought into question. Not long ago, another study revealed a connection between the amount of sleep a person got on a nightly basis and their exposure to cold. People who slept less than seven hours, the study learned, were more prone to come down with a flu than those who rested properly.
“People who slept less than seven hours were about three times more likely to get a cold than people who slept eight hours or more a night. People whose sleep was disturbed were much more likely to develop colds than people who went to sleep, slept all night, and got up in the mornings,” professor Sheldon Cohen, psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University, told CNN at the time.