Remember when we were kids and our parents told us that sleeping in the afternoon would help us grow up faster? Now, it seems to contradict what we know about those times. We’ve all heard different things about this topic, and it can be hard to know what to believe. Some people think that taking a nap during the day can mess up your body’s natural sleep-wake cycle and cause you to gain weight, while others say that a short “power nap” can actually help you lose weight. In this blog, we’ll look into this and answer the question, “Does sleeping in afternoon increase weight?
IN THIS ARTICLE
07. Conclusion
What is Circadian Rhythm?
Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles that are part of the body’s internal clock and run in the background to do important functions and processes. The sleep-wake cycle is one of the most important and well-known circadian rhythms.
Circadian rhythms in the body are timed to a master clock in the brain, so different parts of the body work in sync. The environment, especially light, has a direct effect on this master clock. This is why circadian rhythms are linked to the cycle of day and night.
When everything is in sync, a circadian rhythm can help you get regular, restful sleep. But when this circadian rhythm is off, it can make it hard to sleep or even keep you from sleeping. Also, research is showing that circadian rhythms are important for many parts of physical and mental health.
This rhythm might change as you get older. A baby’s circadian rhythm doesn’t start to form until he or she is a few months old. In the first few days, weeks, and months of their lives, this can make it hard for them to sleep at the same time every night. As they get used to their environment and their bodies change, their circadian rhythm changes with them. Around 3 months, babies start to make the hormone melatonin, and between 2 and 9 months, they make the hormone cortisol.
The change in a teenager’s circadian rhythm is called sleep phase delay. Teenagers may not get tired until much later at night, unlike when they were younger and went to bed around 8 or 9 p.m.
Even though adults should have a fairly stable circadian rhythm if they follow healthy habits. If they try to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep every night and stick to a fairly regular schedule, their bedtimes and wake-up times should stay the same. Adults may notice that as they get older, their circadian rhythm changes, and they start to go to bed earlier than they used to and wake up very early in the morning. This is not a sign of a health problem, but rather a normal sign of getting older.
BENEFITS OF AFTERNOON NAPS
Many studies show that taking a nap isn’t bad if you do it right. In fact, taking a short nap in the afternoon can make you feel and think better after being sleep deprived. Here are some benefits of napping:
Better Cognition
When you take a power nap, you feel more awake. In turn, your brain should work better. Research also shows that naps lower the amount of adenosine in the brain, which makes your brain work better. Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that makes it easier to sleep and helps with thinking.
Better Physical Abilities
People who are physically active may find that taking a nap can, among other things, give them more energy, strength, and stamina.
Athletes who have trouble sleeping often can make up for the effects of not getting enough sleep by taking a nap. Research shows that athletes who don’t get enough sleep can improve their mental and physical performance by taking a 90-minute nap during the day. When athletes take naps, their reaction times and attention improve.
Improved Sleepiness During The Day
If you didn’t get enough sleep the night before and feel tired the next day, an afternoon nap can help you feel better. No matter how often you lose sleep or how late you stay up on the weekends, research shows that a nap makes you more alert and less tired.
Napping does not just help sleep-deprived people feel more alert. Many people who get enough sleep every night still feel tired in the morning. Even a 15-minute nap can keep you from getting sleepy until it’s time to go to bed.
Help Relieve for Shift Workers
Shift workers stay awake because they often work late at night or for long periods of time. Their body clocks can be thrown off by these schedules, making them feel tired at work.
Both long and short naps can help people who work in shifts. Night shift workers can reach deep sleep stages by taking a long nap before work. This keeps them more awake during their shifts. A short nap during work hours can help a night worker stay awake for the rest of their shift, if it’s allowed.
Lower Stress Levels
When adults don’t get enough sleep, they often feel stressed. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body’s stress response kicks in, causing stress hormones to be released. In turn, stress that isn’t taken care of can make it hard to fall asleep at night.
Stress hormones, like cortisol, can be kept in check by taking a nap. People can also take a break from stressful situations and ease the pressure to sleep that builds up during the day by taking a nap.
Immune System Is Better
Sleep is a very important part of the immune system. If you don’t get enough sleep, the cells in your immune system can become less active. This can make inflammation and infections more likely.
Taking a nap, on the other hand, can help the body’s natural defenses get back in shape. It has been shown that short naps help the body recover from a bad night of sleep and boost the immune system.
Connection Between Sleep Duration and Weight Management
A good night’s sleep is an important part of being healthy, and it may also help you keep a healthy weight and make that belly fat go. There’s more and more evidence that people who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to gain weight and become obese than people who sleep seven to eight hours a night.
One common theory about the link between sleep and weight is that sleep changes appetite. We often think that hunger is just our stomachs growling, but it’s actually controlled by neurotransmitters, which are chemical messages that let neurons (nerve cells) talk to each other.
The brain needs sleep like it needs food. Most people need 7–9 hours of sleep every night for health benefits. Too little sleep triggers a cortisol spike. This stress hormone tells your body to save energy so it can keep you going while you’re awake.
How Does Sleep Affect Body Weight?
Not getting enough sleep may give negative effects to our body including the following:
- Lack of sleep may change the hormones that control hunger, making people feel hungrier. One small study found that young men who didn’t get enough sleep had higher levels of the hormone that makes you hungry, ghrelin, and lower levels of the hormone that makes you feel full, leptin. This made them feel more hungry, especially for foods high in fat and carbs.
- Giving people more time to eat: People who don’t get a full night’s sleep may eat more than those who do because they have more time to eat and be doing late-night snacking. A small study done in a lab found that when people didn’t get enough sleep and were surrounded by tasty snacks, they snacked more than when they got enough sleep, especially during the extra hours they were awake at night. It’s proven that people who lacks sleep have weight loss problems.
- Causing people to choose less healthy diets: Observational studies haven’t found a clear link between sleep and food choices, which could be why people choose less healthy diets and usually eat in the right time and choose to go for post lunch. But one study of Japanese workers did find that those who slept less than six hours a night were more likely to eat out, have strange meal times, and snack than those who slept more than six hours. This frequent meal lead to weight gain as well.
- People who don’t get enough sleep are more tired during the day, which can make them less likely to do physical activities. Some studies have shown that people who don’t get enough sleep tend to watch more TV, play less organized sports, and be less physically active than people who get enough sleep. But these differences in how much people work out or watch TV are not big enough to explain why sleep and weight are linked.
- Risk of heart attack. Lack of adequate sleep may lead to increase blood pressure and higher risk of cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and high blood pressure.
Alternatives to Afternoon Naps for Managing Energy Levels
If naps aren’t the best way for you to manage your energy levels, here are some other health tips you can do when you’re tired during the day.
1. Go Out and Do Walking
If you feel yourself getting sleepy, get up from your desk and go for a short walk. Even a short walk around the office or down the hall to see a coworker can give you a much-needed boost of energy.
2. Avoid Too Much Sugar
When you eat sugar, your blood sugar goes up quickly. This can give you a boost of energy. But when sugar gets into the bloodstream, the body makes insulin as well. This makes the blood sugar go down. Sometimes the body makes too many changes, which makes the blood sugar level drop quickly. This is why some people feel tired about 30 minutes after eating something sweet. When you eat sugar in small amounts, especially from fruit or 100% fruit juice, you won’t feel tired.
3. Don’t Forget To Workout
Exercise gives you more stamina and makes your heart and lungs work better. This gives you more energy so you can do simple things around the house. Exercise also helps you sleep better, boosts your mood, reduces stress, helps you control your weight, strengthens your bones and muscles, and lowers your risk for many diseases. Before you start an exercise program, you should talk to your doctor or other health care provider.
4. Eat A Low-Carbohydrate Breakfast And Lunch
Make sure you eat a healthy breakfast and lunch to avoid getting tired. Research has shown that eating foods that are high in carbs but low in protein can cause your blood sugar to rise, which can make you feel very tired.
It’s also important to stay hydrated and resist the urge to eat sweets as you go about your day. Instead of going straight to the vending machines when you get hungry in the middle of the day, choose something that will give you more energy, like raw nuts, yoghurt, or vegetables.
5. Take Small Snacks
Instead of thinking of snacks as extras, think of them as mini-meals that add to the nutrition you get for the day as a whole. Healthy snacks give your body what it needs to keep going. Try eating more fruits and veggies to get more vitamins, minerals, and fiber. To get protein and calcium, choose plain nonfat yoghurt or café lattes made with skim milk. When you snack, try to mix it up, eat in moderation, and keep things in balance.
6. Take Advantage of Caffeine Benefits
Caffeine does make you more alert, so a cup of coffee can help you think more clearly. But you have to use caffeine wisely if you want it to make you feel more alert. It can make it hard to sleep, especially if you have a lot of it or eat it after 2 p.m.
7. Make Sure To Sleep Well
Even one hour less of sleep can make it harder for your mind to work the next day and may cause many health risk. Your reactions will be slower, and you may have trouble remembering things. The National Sleep Foundation says that the average adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night but doesn’t get it. A person over 65 needs 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night, on average.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does sleeping in the afternoon affect metabolism and weight?
If you sleep in the afternoon, it can throw off your natural circadian rhythms, which can hurt your metabolism and make you gain weight. Studies have shown that sleeping at weird times, like taking naps in the afternoon, can make you gain weight and mess up your metabolism.
Does the time of day that you sleep affect your weight?
Yes, research has shown that when you sleep can affect how you keep your weight down. If you sleep during the day or stay up late at night, it can throw off your circadian rhythms and make you more likely to gain weight and have problems with your metabolism.
How can I balance sleep, diet, and exercise for optimal weight management?
For the best weight management, it’s important to put all three of these things first. Aim to get 7-8 hours of good sleep every night, eat a well-balanced diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains, and get regular exercise that includes both cardio and strength training.
How can I create a sleep-friendly environment for afternoon naps or nighttime rest?
To make your bedroom a good place to sleep, try to keep it cool, dark, and quiet. Use blackout curtains or a sleep mask to block out light, and earplugs or white noise to block out noise. Also, don’t use electronics in the hour before bed. This will help your body know that it’s time to sleep.
Can adjusting my sleep schedule help me lose weight or maintain a healthy weight?
Yes, research has shown that changing your sleep schedule so that you get regular, high-quality sleep can help you manage your weight. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. On the weekends, don’t stay up too late or sleep in too late. This can help control your circadian rhythms and improve the way your body works as a whole.
Conclusion
Now that we know that getting the right amount of sleep, eating right, and exercising is important for good weight management. Some studies show that sleeping in the afternoon can mess up your body’s natural circadian rhythms, which can cause you to gain weight and have problems with your metabolism. Some study claims that if you can’t sleep well at night, you should try to get some rest in the afternoon to give your body a break.
Despite the fact that no study is 100% certain what happens when you take a nap in the afternoon. It’s important to make sure to create a sleep-friendly environment, and for it to happen you can try some techniques like keeping the bedroom cool, dark, and quiet. Adjusting your sleep schedule to prioritize consistent, quality sleep can help regulate circadian rhythms and improve overall metabolic function. It’s important to note that research has shown that irregular sleep patterns can lead to weight gain. Does sleeping in the afternoon increase weight? It really depends and varies between people. The most important thing is to prioritize quality nighttime sleep to maintain a healthy weight.