Sleep well for your weight

Sleep impacts your health and well-being. This includes getting to and staying at your healthy weight. You may never have thought about your sleep when you’ve thought about managing your weight. Motivation, appetite, and your energy level are key to managing your weight. All 3 of these are greatly affected by not getting enough sleep or poor quality sleep.

Not getting enough sleep is linked to weight gain. If you don’t get enough sleep, you feel sleepy or tired during the day. This can affect your mood. When you’re not in a good mood or are feeling tired it’s hard to make healthy lifestyle choices. For example, you may be too tired to cook a healthy meal or be active.

Are you getting enough sleep?

Sleep is a basic necessity of life. Both getting enough sleep and not sleeping too much are important to your health. Everyone needs different amounts of sleep to function at their best. The amount of sleep you need changes at different times in your life.

The Canadian Sleep Society says that most adults get 6 to 9 hours of sleep a night. The average is 8 hours a night. Research shows that less than 6 hours of sleep and more than 8 or 9 hours of sleep can put you at higher risk for chronic diseases. This includes cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. People who get 7 to 8 hours of sleep each night usually feel that they have better health and quality of life.

Your body and your mind work better when you have the right amount of sleep. It’s not just the number of hours you sleep, but also how well you stay asleep during the night that’s important. The right amount of good sleep will help you be more alert, have better concentration and memory, and help you keep up your energy level during the day.

These are important for your everyday activities, including eating well and being active.

You can find out if you’re getting enough sleep by paying attention to whether you feel rested in the morning and if you’re alert during your day.