Is Your Lack Of Sleep Expanding Your Waistline?

We all know that getting 7+ hours of sleep does a body, mind and spirit good, right?

When you are well rested you feel more energized, make better decisions, and can play well with others just a tad bit better.

Not only do we feel better, we actually are physically better with adequate sleep.  Sleep helps our body physically recover from the day before.  While we sleep our mind gets cleaned and rejuvenated.  Research has shown getting plenty of sleep helps our memory. Including preventing Alzheimer's disease. When we get a good night's sleep we are ready to take on the day instead of taking on the caffeine.

Something you may not know is that getting less than 7 hours sleep may be adding to your waistline.  According to a study conducted with over 68,000 women, spanning 16 years, those that lacked sleep gained weight in comparison to those in the study that slept 7 or more hours. This was measured even when comparing their nutrition and activity.  Worse yet,  those that regularly received less than 5 hours or less sleep gained even more weight over the same time period.  sleep-weight study

If you are working on shedding a few pounds, try adding a little extra sleep to you regimen.  Especially, if you get less than 7 hours on a regular basis.  Even if you can't make a big step to 7+ hours, try by adding an extra 15, 30, 60 minutes.  Gradually, work your way to 7-9 hours.  Once you do, you will wonder how you did it with 5 or 6 for all those years.

Not only will your body and  mind thank you, but those close to you, including your waistline will too. 

For daily tips, tricks, and inspiration, follow me on Facebook at Pamela Bradley's Live.Rock.Fit.

Stay AMAZING!!