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Lack of sleep: how we lose muscle by not getting enough rest
Author: Mikhail Ziborov - author of the site makefitness.pro. All articles by the author ➤
What if I tell you that when you are sleep-deprived, you lose weight not due to subcutaneous fat, but due to your muscle mass? It may seem curious: well, I missed a couple of hours of sleep, how can that significantly affect weight loss? It won't really affect weight loss overall—you will still drop weight one way or another. However, it will affect body composition—you'll burn muscle tissue instead of fat. As a result, fat stays the same, but you have less muscle. Do you like that kind of weight loss? Sleep deprivation and its consequences: how body composition changesI have already written about how lack of sleep affects training results. Now I’m writing about the quality of weight loss during sleep deprivation. We won’t discuss all the consequences of sleep deprivation right now; you’ve probably faced some of them yourself: And I haven't even mentioned that sleep deprivation leads to overeating during wakefulness: the lack of energy is compensated by energy from food, and sleep deprivation affects hunger hormones (ghrelin in men and GLP-1 in women). And those who consistently do not get enough sleep eat more than they should, that’s a fact (study). But the discussion here is specifically about weight loss and appearance, which depends on your body composition (what type of tissue you have more—muscle or fat). Look. If your goal is just the numbers on the scale, then you are doing everything right: lose weight however you can (fat remains, muscle is lost, the numbers go down, and you are satisfied). But if your goal is weight loss while maintaining a beautiful appearance and health, then sleep deprivation is not for you. The thing is that two people can weigh the same amount. Let's say 50 kg (for simplicity). But one has muscle occupying most of their body, while the other has a layer of fat. Guess which of these two examples will look slimmer and younger, even though their weight is the same. But let’s get to the facts. Scientists took 10 overweight people (3 women, 7 men, aged around 40) and put them on a caloric deficit, meaning they ate less than their normal caloric intake (study). They assessed the losses of muscle and fat tissue. Those who slept for 8.5 hours lost 1.4 kg of fat, while those who slept for 5.5 hours lost only 600 g of fat. Moreover, those who slept for 8.5 hours lost only 1.5 kg of muscle, while those who slept for 5.5 hours lost 2.4 kg of muscle. So we see the difference: sleep deprivation leads to lesser fat loss and greater muscle loss. The scientists concluded that adequate sleep helps maintain muscle mass during weight loss (by getting enough sleep, you will lose weight the right way). Or take another study. Two groups of people: one simply underate, and the other underate and was slightly sleep-deprived. The result: both groups lost weight about equally – the total weight lost (those same numbers on the scale) was the same for everyone. But when analyzing body composition (how people actually lost weight), it turns out that those who were sleep-deprived lost more muscle and significantly less fat. Thus, we see that sleep deprivation results in muscle loss instead of fat loss when you are dieting (undereating to lose weight). Do you want to receive similar information daily? Then here’s our Telegram: gain only benefit, only concentrated information every day. But each of us has our responsibilities, and there is not always time to sleep 8-9 hours a day. However, we still want to be healthy and look great. What's the solution? Let's be clever: we can get enough sleep in a shorter time thanks to GABA – a natural substance in our body that helps make our sleep deeper. As a result, you need about 7 hours instead of 8-9 for complete recovery. One of the best GABA products on the market is Now Foods, GABA, pure powder. SIMILAR ARTICLES
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