subject: Got Belly Fat? Cortisol, Stress, Sleep, and The Relationship Between Them [print this page] When you think about losing weight, sleep is rarely the first thing that comes to mind, but in truth, getting enough sleep is an important part of any diet plan. It assists your body to function nicely - and it also helps fight against one of the underlying causes of belly fat: cortisol. Let's look at this closer.
When you get enough sleep, you lower your stress level considerably. When we are under stress, it triggers a chemical reaction inside of us that transfers us into a type of "survival" mode. During this mode, our bodies make a chemical known as cortisol - and it directly affects your belly fat. Cortisol basically tells us to save up fat reserves for the "difficult times ahead".
Our lives today are generally filled with stress. Financial, personal, social and other obligations add to our stress levels on a regular basis. The incessant bombardment of advertisements and information, "self-imposed famines" that we call "diets", and a lot more all contribute to raising our stress levels - and as a result enlarging our waist lines - than ever before. Belly fat cortisol production sky rockets inside of us due to stress.
If you wish to decrease your belly fat, one rule you need to remember at all times is to simply slow down and relax. Allow your body the release and amount of time it needs to produce endorphins (the feel-good chemicals that you want instead of belly fat cortisol). Having more endorphins in your body contributes to your feeling much more positive about everything - including your weight. (Why not give belly fat yoga a try?)
Being sure to get enough sleep also is incredibly important for people who exercise or do muscle strengthening on a regular basis. Sleep gives your body time to repair itself.
Those achy muscles from strength training are brought on by tiny tears inside your muscle tissues, and sleep allows your body time to repair and rebuild stronger muscles. Those "rebuilt" muscles make up the increased lean muscle mass in your body, and the greater amount of lean muscle mass you have, the faster your body burns through calories - even while you are resting.
Getting enough sleep is not always enjoyable or easy. According to most studies on the matter, the majority of individuals do not get even close to the 7 to 10 hours their bodies need. And if you want to get that lean body and fight belly fat cortisol, be sure to get enough sleep to ward off weight gain.
How do you make sure you get sufficient sleep? The easiest way to find out is to simply do a quick review of how many hours of sleep you are getting on a regular basis. If you are lower than 7 hours each night, figure out what is keeping you up.
Video games, television, computer time, alcohol or caffeine, and more all act as stimulants that keep you awake when you could be getting that valuable sleep. Some quick tips for enhancing your sleep time are to avoid caffeine of any kind after noon, do some stretching or yoga, chat with a trusted friend, or journal about the stress in your life.
Try to avoid the use of sleeping aids, and it is entirely too easy to get addicted to them. Discuss them with a physician before usage.
Another great way to encourage good sleeping habits is to make your bedroom a quiet, peaceful room. Use some cheap foam earplugs if noises wake you up, hang some heavy curtains to keep out the light in the early morning hours, wind down with a cup of chamomile tea and a good book, or with personal devotions.
These are all ways your "belly fat one rule" of getting enough sleep will work for you, how you can ward off the build up of belly fat, cortisol production, and more.
Got Belly Fat? Cortisol, Stress, Sleep, and The Relationship Between Them
