How Many Hours of Sleep You Need Each Night To Start Burning Fat

If you're struggling to lose weight, the answer might not be found in the gym—it could be more beneficial to get a healthy night's sleep.

Avery Zenker is a registered dietician from Everflex Fitness, who explained that a proper sleep routine could be the key to shed those extra pounds. She told Newsweek: "Usually seven to nine hours is recommended to best support weight loss. But the sleep quality is just as important, as well as the sleep quantity."

Every individual will have a slightly different sleep routine, but it's essential to get enough rest each night, especially for those looking to burn fat and lose weight. The recommended amount of sleep that an adult needs each night is at least seven hours, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

However, the CDC estimates that one in three adults isn't getting enough sleep, which has also been linked to an increased risk of chronic disease, diabetes, obesity, depression and cardiovascular disease.

Lack of Sleep Increases Hunger Hormones

Having a maintainable sleep schedule is vitally important for anyone, especially those who are working towards weight loss. Zenker, from Ontario, Canada, explained how insufficient sleep can lead to increased production of ghrelin, a hormone commonly associated with hunger.

She said: "Leptin and ghrelin are two of our hunger-related hormones. Ghrelin tells our brain that we're hungry, while leptin helps us feel satiated. When our sleep routine is less than ideal in quality and quantity, ghrelin can increase, and leptin may decrease.

"This leads to increased feelings of hunger and cravings, and reduced feelings of satiety. Both of these can lead to overeating, which over time can inhibit weight loss or lead to weight gain."

Ghrelin is produced in the stomach when it's empty, or nearly empty. The Cleveland Clinic highlights that ghrelin also helps the body to store fat and stimulates the pituitary gland to release growth hormones.

While increased ghrelin production might lead people to eat more, Zenker also suggests that getting to bed on time can "reduce late-night eating" habits, which could be prohibiting weight loss.

"Not only does eating close to bedtime reduce sleep quality, but food choices people make later at night tend to be higher calorie and more processed.

"When it comes to food choices throughout the day, lack of quality sleep can lead to overeating and poorer quality food choices—especially high-carbohydrate and calorie-dense foods. These types of foods can make it more difficult to maintain a calorie deficit for weight loss."

Don't Try To Run On Empty

If you're hoping for a great workout session to set you up for the day, the last thing you want is to be yawning before you've even stepped foot on a machine.

Getting sufficient sleep each night will increase energy levels, which means that workouts will be more energized and productive.

"One common challenge people face in their weight loss journey is feeling a lack of energy to exercise, cook, and make decisions to support a healthy lifestyle," Zenker told Newsweek. "I think most of us can agree that we have higher energy levels, we not only feel better, but we're more likely to exercise and prepare nutritious meals.

"For individuals in a calorie deficit, sleep deprivation may lead to increased likelihood of muscle being used for energy, more than fat. This suggests that improved sleep could help retain muscle mass while losing fat."

Adequate Sleep Helps Take Care of Your Gut

If balancing your appetite and producing better workouts weren't good enough reasons to get those sacred seven hours of sleep a night, Zenker has also explained how beneficial it can be for taking care of your gut.

She said: "There's increasing research suggesting that gut health and sleep both impact each other. Poor sleep can lead to gut inflammation, constipation, altered gut microbiome and intestinal impermeability, also known as leaky gut)."

Even a seemingly minor change in sleep can have a pivotal effect on the gut, as highlighted by a 2023 study published in the European Journal of Nutrition. The study looked at how those who change their sleep habits by just 90 minutes can develop social jet lag, which in turn was linked to an unfavorable diet, change in gut bacteria, and increased inflammation.

As our bodies are so used to structure, social jet lag will often mean a person sleeps in late the next morning just to get sufficient rest.

Overall, the conclusions reached from the study suggested that a social jet lag can lead to a disadvantageous gut microbiome.

Zenker continued: "We know that our gut microbiome composition impacts our health in numerous ways, including our metabolism, disease risk, and bodyweight. Even small changes in sleep patterns can impact our gut microbiome.

"Our gut microbiome and gut health influence our weight by various mechanisms, many which we don't have a clear understanding yet, but increased microbial diversity is one that is often supportive of healthy weight."

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