Can you lose weight on a crappy sleeping schedule? I have been having the hardest time sleeping lately. I can't fall asleep before 2am, no matter how much I exercise or try, and I don't take sleeping pills. I usually end up sleeping until 12 in the afternoon, but I'm pushing myself to get to bed by 2 and be up by 9:30. Eventually I'll reel that back to 8:30AM.

My question is, am I ruining all my attempts at losing weight by not sleeping well? I'm exercising daily and counting calories.

I think the answer is "yes, you probably can lose weight during chronic sleep deprivation, but at what cost?"

I've learned that good sleep really does help weight loss, more than I ever would have expected (and more importantly good sleep is necessary for good health and poor sleep can have disastrous health consequences). I think some of my obesity, and a whole lot of my other health problems were caused or worsened by my poor sleep patterns. For many years, I sacrificed sleep - by working multiple jobs, or working while going to school, doing double shifts... literally burning the candle at both ends, and it eventually caught up with me (both in terms of weight gain and health problems).

About eight years ago, I had a sleep study done, and discovered that I had multiple sleep disorders:

1. sleep apnea (about every 90 seconds I stopped breathing)

2. rls plmd (restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder). I thrashed around so much while sleeping that my husband would wake up with bruises from where I had slugged or kicked him in the middle of the night.

3. periodic insomnia. I could usually fall asleep, but I couldn't stay asleep. Pain or having to pee would wake me up several times during the night.

4. sleep stage problems. I spent virtually no time in restorative sleep (REM and deeper stages). Some of this was due to waking before I had a chance to get into the deep stages, but some of this is a characteristic of fibromyalgia (which I also have).

5. fibromyalgia - many doctors believe that fibromyalgia IS a sleep disorder, others believe that sleep disorders may be a cause of fibromyalgia, and others believe that fibromyalgia causes sleep disturbances. While which is true hasn't been proven, it's clear that many types of sleep disorders are associated with fibromyalgia.

I know I've gotten a bit off topic, but to reign it back in, when I was diagnosed my doctors told me that I would probably lose some weight "without even trying" as a result of treatment for the sleep issues.

I thought they were nuts, because I had never in my life lost even a single pound "without trying," but sure enough within 6 months of being prescribed a cpap machine for the sleep apnea and a small dose of antidepressant (too small to be effective for depression, but enough to help improve sleep quality) and mirapex for the rls and pmdd, I lost 20 lbs.


The 20 lbs was entirely "by accident" as I wasn't trying to lose weight (I was convinced at the time that trying to lose weight had only ever ultimately resulted in weight gain, so I had sworn of dieting). I didn't even own a scale at the time, and only found out about the weight loss at a routine check-up.

As for the last 80+ pounds, I can't tell you how much of it was my efforts and how much has been my constant work at improving my sleep quality. All I can tell you, is that it is essential for my physical and mental health.

Sleep deprivation KILLS. They no longer do human (or even that much animal) sleep deprivation research, because they know it's deadly. Rats deprived of REM sleep die of immune and autoimmune disease. It may be no coincidence that I was diagnosed with autoimmune and immune-deficiency disorders, or that those disorders have gone into at least partial remission, since improving my sleep habits and addressing the sleep disorders.

The moral of my long story, is that sleep is much more important than most of us realize. Chronic sleep deprivation is known to cause serious health problems (and often once they become noticeable, they've already done damage, some of which can be irreversible).

I know we tend to think of adequate sleep as a luxury we can't afford, but it's actually a necessity we can't afford to sacrifice.

No, weight loss comes from the calorie deficit. It may make you more vulnerable psychologically to going off the diet, but so long as you stay on it you'll lose weight.

Yes, but it can be harder to create the calorie deficit - there's quite a good deal of evidence that sleep deprivation actually can reduce your metabolism - so even though you may be eating less than your "normal" you also may be "burniing less." As a result, sleep deprivation actually can make it more difficult to acheive a calorie deficit.

Just as an example (the numbers are entirely fictional). Say you normally need to eat 1800 calories to maintain your weight when you're getting adequate sleep, but when you're sleep deprived you're only burning 1550. If you don't reduce your calorie level, you're going to start gaining 1/2 pound per week. Also, if you were to reduce your calories to 1550 you would be eating less than "normal" but you wouldn't be losing any weight because of the metabolic slowing caused by the sleep deprivation.

When people talk about creating a calorie deficit, they sometimes forget that the "calories out" (the calories burned) is not a constant (not only is it variable, we don't know all of the variables and even the ones we do know about, often aren't under our conscious control). If you reduce your calorie intake, but your calorie expenditure also is reduced, you're not going to lose as much (or may not lose at all).

That's why many people find that they actually lose more weight when they increase their calorie intake. This sounds counterintuitive until you realize that the calories out part of the equation is variable and can be effected not only by calorie intake, but by other variables as well. Just as an example, if you cut your calories too low, you may be more easily exhausted and less likely to exercise. The same is true of sleep deprivation. If you're not sleeping well, it's going to be much more difficult to exercise and be active. Your body may even "spend" less energy on running your immune system (this is one of the theories behind the connection between sleep deprivation and weight gain, as it's known that sleep deprivation not only is associated with weight gain, it's also associated with a weakened immune system).

There are a tremendous number of factors that can affect our metabolic rate, not to mention the "voluntary" parts of the calorie burning (like intentional exercise) and the involuntary or subconscious ones (for example people who are sleep deprived have been shown to become more reserved in their normal body movements - they fidget less, for example, they sit stiller...) There are so many subtle changes, that we're not even able to be consciously aware of.

Even more important than the potential adverse effects on weight loss, are the other serious health risks associated with sleep deprivation.

Even though studied many of these in college (as an undergraduate and in graduate school), I didn't really "get it" until I experienced it myself. When my doctors told me that I would lose weight without trying and without changing my eating habits, I didn't believe it - because I falsely assumed my metabolism (the calories out) wouldn't change.

Within 6-8 months, I had lost 20 lbs without dieting and without changeing my eating habits or exercise habits at all. I might not have been all that surprised at 5 lbs, but 20? Just from better sleep? When I asked if my experience was typical, I was told that it absolutely was. I never in a million years would have expected such a dramatic difference, and so quickly. Often while dieting I didn't experience a 20 lb loss in 6 months of actively trying and yet doing nothing (except sleeping better) was able to accomplish what I couldn't with intentional effort.

That's so interesting...and I would love to see if it were true, but I'd have to get addicted to sleeping pills for it to happen lol. How long do you sleep? I have a hard time getting to bed before 2. I dont' know what my problem is, because even if I get in BED by 2, I'm still mentally awake or lucid dreaming until about 5. Then I end up sleeping the day away.

I really need to get this under control. That would be awesome to just "accidentally" lose weight by sleeping better.

Addiction to sleeping pills is not your only option. I've only taken prescription sleeping pills once and only for a few days. My doctor prescribed Ambien for me, but I didn't like it, because I didn't wake up feeling rested, I ended up groggy. I've never even taken an otc sleeping pill without my doctor's ok and specific directions. The only otc med I have used, and even then only with my doctors ok is Benedryl (actually the generic version).

What I do take daily is a low dose (I think the lowest dose available) of amitryptiline about an hour before bedtime. It's an older antidepressant (but the dose I take is lower than would normally be effective in treating depression), and it helps me fall asleep and get deeper sleep.

If I can't fall asleep, I take a couple tablets of Benadryl (this isn't something you want to take EVERY night, becuse you can build a tolerance toit, but my doctor says it's perfectly safe for occasional use for me). It's rare for me to ever use Benedryl. I'll go months without needing it, and then might need it for two or three nights and then I'll go months without needing it.


I would suggest talking to your doctor about some safe, non-addictive solutions. Some people do have luck with sleeping pills as a short-term solution. They'll need it for a few weeks, and then it will get their body into the "habit" of falling asleep. I just didn't like the feeling of the sleeping pills, and the amitryptiline was not only gentler it didn't make me feel "different" in any way (except better for having better rest).

Yes, poor sleep effects weight loss. For years I followed a low glycemic diet very carefully and struggled to lose a pound. If I went off it for even one meal, I would gain three or more. It was beyond frustrating. I exercised regularly, and for years no one could tell me WHY I could not lose. I did Atkins, and never could get into ketosis. About two years ago, I read in Mark Hyman's Ultra Metabolism book that sleep apnea kills the metabolism, and to have that checked if you snore. Well, I snored like a freight train and my husband had been urging me to go for a sleep study for a long time. I went. My sleep apnea was so bad the doctor told me I was lucky to be alive. I changed nothing except I started using a cpap machine and the weight started to disappear. I lost 40 pounds in a few months. Now I am kind of stalled, but at least I know if I work at it, I CAN lose- whereas before NOTHING worked.

SO to answer your question about sleep problems effecting weight loss...yes. It does.

And I want to say it is not as simple as calories in/calories out. Its WAY more complicated than that.

I tend to lose more quickly (and feel better when I'm awake) when I get enough sleep. I don't know if it would help you at all, but something that's helped me "shut down" at night is using simple meditation techniques like focusing on breathing until I fall asleep. Instead of being awake for 2 or 3 hours after going to bed, the meditation exercises help me fall asleep between 15 min. and an hour after getting in bed.

Poor sleeping habits wreak havoc on your hormone balance, which absolutely affects weight loss, no matter how strictly you stick to your plan. You'll still lose, but it will be slower and probably frustrating.

Having said that, as someone who's always had trouble sleeping, I know it's not as easy as just saying, "Get some sleep!" I take a double dose of melatonin (6 mg) and that has made a HUGE difference in my ability to fall asleep and stay asleep. It's a hormone available in the vitamin section of most grocery/health food stores.

PS: I did try Ambien once upon a time, but I'm one of those people it has zero effect on. I've been known to hit the Nyquil during times of desperation. Meditation never worked for me either, unfortunately.