Still dreaming about your body goals? Worry not because even in our sleep, our bodies are capable of burning fat. There are certain ways we can enhance fat-burning while we sleep. So we can stop dreaming about our body goals, and start living in it!
Have Tiny Dinners
This is pretty obvious. When you eat large meals before you sleep, the body will have a difficult time to digest and metabolize it. An important thing about the body you should know is when we are in a state of deep sleep, our brain emits a growth hormone. Now, if you eat late at night, the growth hormone will store the food still in your system as fat and not as fuel.
Say “No” to Alcohol...
During the dream stage of sleep or rapid eye movement, more commonly known as REM, is the time when our bodies burn the most calories. If you drink alcohol so close to your shut-eye time, your body has to work to metabolize the alcohol as you sleep, which in turn, will keep you from getting to the state of REM. there’s no harm in having a glass of wine during dinner, but you should stay away from alcohol three hours before you hit the sack.
...But Say “Yes” to Protein
If, like me, you are prone to munching on something before you sleep, try to drink protein shakes instead. A study has shown that men who had a shake with grams of protein before hitting the hay experienced a higher resting energy expenditure. Plus, if you are coming in a from a particularly tough day at the gym, this can also help in muscle repair.
Establish Your Bedtime
Yes, it is a known fact: we all need to get enough and quality sleep. However, things get in the way - late nights at work, a long day at home. Whatever the reason is, it gets in the way of your beauty sleep and weight loss! Why? A study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has revealed that well-rested people’s resting energy expenditure was 5% higher than that of their exhausted peers. Plus, they burned 20% more calories after eating, than those who skimp on sleep. Other relevant studies have also found that lack of sleep makes fat cells less sensitive blood sugar which can be linked to obesity.
Keep It Cool
When you sleep in cooler temperatures, it helps your body burn more calories overnight. Why? This is because our bodies work harder to raise our core temperature to a stable 98.6 degrees, which burns the calories. Pretty cool, huh?
Put the Devices Away
I know, I know, this bit can be the hardest part of them all. I mean, to be able to work or watch videos in bed sounds the most relaxing thing ever. But the short-wavelength blue light emitted from these devices, such as your smartphones and tablets? They do not help you sleep at all. In fact, it disrupts the body’s production of melatonin that could lead to metabolism disruption, too. So, set a screen cut-off time and do yourself a huge favor.
Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark!
For a person like me who cannot sleep in complete darkness as I am blind as a bat, it bums me out that I cannot do this. But when you’re sleeping in complete darkness, your body produces a hormone called melatonin, which makes you feel sleepy and can also stimulate the production of calorie-burning brown fat.