Managing sleep disorders and stress is as challenging as maintaining an ideal body weight.
Sleep, stress, and weight are interlinked and either of these can harm health. Though
overweight and obesity are growing health issues, unfortunately, we do not consider obesity
as a disease and weight gain as a gateway to various health problems.

Sleep and weight management
Sleep is one of the important parts to maintain the overall health of an individual. As per the
survey, a decrease in sleep quantity and quality has been reported. Simultaneously there has
been an increase in body weight leading to obesity. This may explain the link between sleep
and weight management.
Disturbed sleeping pattern impacts the metabolism and affects the digestive system. A poor
digestive system is the root cause of various chronic health conditions including obesity.
Even a little weight loss can greatly influence sleep quality and vice versa.
Let us understand how sleep can influence weight –
Sleep and appetite
Did you ever feel like eating more when you are awake till late at night or do you make
frequent trips to the kitchen when not able to sleep? It is a common thing that most of us have
come across as there is a connection between sleep and appetite.
We feel the urge to eat when the brain sends certain chemicals to the stomach. These
chemicals are the hunger hormones such as ghrelin and leptin. Secretion of such hormones
makes us feel hungry and eat more. How long we sleep and how soundly we sleep influence
the hunger hormone in the body. It is observed that people who sleep less have a high level of
hunger hormones when compared to those who sleep well.
A person is inclined to eat high-calorie foods when the hunger hormones are at their peak.
Eating foods high in calories and carbs leads to weight gain and obesity. Less sleep can
impact the metabolism, and digestion process and adds on the extra fats in the body.
Sleep and metabolism
As we have discussed, the chemicals in the body influence your appetite. Also, hormones are
responsible for converting the foods and drinks we consume. All the activities we perform
increase our metabolism. Exercise or being too much active increase metabolism whereas
living a sedentary lifestyle or sleeping decrease metabolism and this affects the fat deposition
in the body.
Sleep disorder not just affects metabolism but can imbalance the blood sugar level and cause
weight gain.
Sleep and energy level

Sleep deprivation can deprive the energy of your body. Insufficient sleep makes you feel
lethargic and tired. This makes it difficult for you to be active and cause weight gain. Staying
active or engaging in physical activities is essential for good sleep and weight management.
Sleeping tips to shed the extra fats
By now we know the importance of sleep on overall health. Sleep can influence your weight
loss journey. Let us understand the ways to get a good sleep that can support your weight loss
efforts. Apart from your diet and other efforts, following the given points can help in weight
management.
Use a dark curtain to block the lights
Your television lights, side lamp, or other light can affect your sleep. Keeping the room dark,
using curtains that block the light, and switching off the artificial lights can increase body
weight and affect weight management efforts.
Follow a fixed time to hit the bed
Following the same sleep pattern keeps the metabolism under control. Hitting the sack late at
night changes metabolism and can increase the blood sugar level. Make a habit of sleeping
early to prevent kitchen trips.
Maintain a gap between dinner and sleep
Late-night eating impacts the process of digestion. The body is not able to digest the food and
this affects the weight loss journey.
Stress and weight management 
Stress is a common condition in the modern world that affects the quality of life. Stress can
cause affect your physical health, and mental health and affect your behavior.
With the increase in cortisol hormone, there is an increase in weight. Stress is a common part
of our life and we cannot escape it. The body undergoes hormonal changes under stress. To
tackle stress, the body releases the certain hormone and increase the blood sugar level. This
provides energy to the body to overcome the situation. As the phase diminishes there is an
increase in the cortisol hormone.
Let us understand how stress influences weight loss management –
Stress and craving for high-calorie foods
Consuming high-calorie foods provide quick energy to the body which is the need for an hour
during stress. These are the extra calories the body consumes and is stored in the body as
fats.
Stress and metabolism

Stress causes a high level of cortisol and this affects the metabolism in the same way as high-
calorie foods do to the body. People under stress have a high level of insulin and the
imbalance of hormones causes fat deposition.
Stress leads to eating disorder
A person under stress has a high chance of developing an eating disorder which includes
emotional eating, eating fast foods, staying less active, and skipping meals. All these
unhealthy habits cause the deposition of extra fats in the body.
Take Away
Manage weight by focusing on sleep and stress. Stress is unavoidable but there are ways to
manage it. Sleep is an important part of overall well-being. Working out on stress and sleep
problems can make your weight loss journey achievable. Consulting a healthcare provider
can help you with diet changes, physical activities, and other options that can help you
manage to sleep and stress for better weight management.