It Feels Great, Costs Nothing, and Sheds Body Fat

Can you guess what it is?

It’s something you probably love to do.

It doesn’t cost a penny.

It’s something most people do every day. (I’ve missed one day in my life so far; that was a spectacular day).

Not getting enough of this thing suppresses your metabolism. Getting enough of this thing optimizes your metabolism.

It isn’t a meal plan or a workout plan.

Any guesses?

I won’t keep you waiting:

“Our findings provide a potential mechanistic link between animal laboratory work and human epidemiological findings in terms of how prolonged sleep restriction and prolonged circadian disruption impair glucose regulation and reduce metabolism. The robust changes we observed with exposure to chronic and concurrent circadian disruption and sleep restriction have potential relevance to the millions of people who experience these challenges on a daily basis and who are more likely to develop the metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Findings of particular clinical relevance for exposure to chronic sleep restriction with circadian disruption include a 32% decrease in insulin secretion in response to a standardized meal, a very large effect that led to inadequate glucose regulation: glucose levels were higher for a longer time and rose to pre-diabetic levels in some participants. Finally, the 8% drop in RMR with sleep restriction and circadian disruption, assuming no changes in activity or food intake, would translate into ~12.5 pounds increase in weight over a single year (120 kcal/day × 365 days / 3500 kcal of fat mass), which has clear clinical relevance as chronic sleep restriction with circadian disruption is endemic in our society.” (1)

There it is in black and white:

You can lose 12.5 pounds a year just by getting plenty of sleep.

It’s good and it’s true: Sleep helps to keep you well and lean.

Many people think getting and staying well is about doing things they hate. It just ain’t true, and sleep is a great example of this:

It feels great, costs nothing, and sheds body fat.

Many people think wellness is only about exercise and nutrition. But wellness is holistic, as this piece of scientific evidence demonstrates. If you enjoy a little art with your science, you’ll probably enjoy how William Shakespeare said it:

“O sleep, O gentle sleep, Nature’s soft nurse, how have I frightened thee?”
—Henry IV, Part 2 by William Shakespeare

“Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care, the death of each day’s life sore labour’s bath balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course chief nourisher in life’s feast.”
—The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare

“Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber.”
—The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare

(1) Metabolic Consequences in Humans of Prolonged Sleep Restriction Combined with Circadian Disruption. Science Translational Medicine, 2012, 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003200.

About Jason GootmanJason Gootman is a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach as well as a certified nutritionist and certified exercise physiologist. Jason helps people reverse and prevent type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other ailments with evidence-based approaches to nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, holistic wellness, and, most importantly, lasting behavior improvement and positive habit formation. As part of this work, Jason often helps people lose weight and keep it off, in part by helping them overcome the common challenges of yo-yo dieting and emotional eating. Jason helps people go from knowing what to do and having good intentions to consistently taking great care of themselves in ways that help them add years to their lives and life to their years.