7 Fat-Regulating Hormones That Become Out of Balance with too Little Sleep

by | Oct 20, 2015 | Hormones

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Have you fully realized how important sleep is? It affects almost every area of our lives. There are 7 fat-regulating hormones that become out of balance with too little sleep.  Also, a study in the journal Nature Communications, found that depriving people of sleep for just one night increased cravings for junk food and decreased rational eating decisions in the frontal cortex.
I’m sure you’ve experienced, like I have, the aftermath of a really bad night’s sleep where you find yourself ordering a sticky, sweet doughnut or gooey cheese Danish with your huge cup of coffee, sending you in a downward spiral of hunger and cravings, which results in storing fat throughout your day as blood-sugar levels spike and crash. Hormonal imbalances underlie these eating disasters. You see, lack of sleep adversely affects many of your hormones, so you’re much more likely to store fat than burn fat.
Below, I am listing seven fat-regulating hormones that become imbalanced when we have too little sleep. This then sets the stage for fat gain, obesity and numerous diseases.
  1. Insulin. Elevated levels of this powerful storage hormone close your fat-cell doors shut, storing fat rather than releasing it to burn. A study in The Journal of Applied Physiology found that chronic sleep loss decreased insulin sensitivity, increased hunger and appetite, and also contributes to weight gain, insulin resistance and diabetes.
  2. Leptin. Leptin tells your brain that you are full. It regulates metabolism so that you burn more fat when your body needs to. You want plenty of leptin circulating around your system for fat loss, but you also want your brain to get its message. A study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism showed that sleep duration influences the production of leptin, which in turn, adversely affects other hormones such as cortisol and the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). The researchers in this study concluded that “sleep modulates a major component of the neuroendocrine control of appetite.”
  3. Ghrelin. The hormone, gherlin, does the opposite of leptin. Ghrelin tells your brain to eat now! It is not coincidental that the name sounds like your stomach growling! Increased ghrelin means you are more likely to take a nose dive into the sweets. Another study in the Journal of Sleep Research found that one night of sleep increased ghrelin levels and hunger in healthy normal-weight men, which in the long run could contribute to weight gain and obesity.
  4. Glucagon. Glucagon does the opposite of insulin. This hormone releases fat from your fat cells to burn for energy. A study in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism studied 10 men who only got 4.5 hours of sleep every night. The decreased sleep duration reduced circulating levels of glucagon.
  5. Cortisol. This stress hormone may be of benefit to you in the short term but, when it is chronically elevated, it stores fat and breaks down muscle. Cortisol levels should be highest in the morning and then taper through the day. “Sleep loss results in an elevation of cortisol levels the next evening,” according to the journal Sleep. In that study, researchers concluded too little sleep could increase stress as well as metabolic and cognitive problems. In addition, it could leave you tossing and turning the next night.
  6. Adiponectin. This is an anti-inflammatory hormone which helps predict cardiovascular risk as well as regulating several metabolic processes (including fat breakdown). Optimal adiponectin levels can reduce your risk for insulin resistance and diabetes, according to studies performed. The journal, Physiology and Behavior, showed that reduced sleep decreases adiponectin production, which is shown to increase cardiovascular risk in Caucasian women.
  7. Growth hormone. Your body makes this hormone during deep stage 4 sleep. Its benefits include aiding in muscle synthesis and repair, as well as boosting energy and improving fat metabolism. Light sleepers and people who awake often during the night might not be making optimal GH. According to a 1991 study in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, findings showed fewer hours of sleep means your body makes less GH.
So next time you find yourself battling in your mind whether to stay up a little longer, think about some of the adverse effects you can experience from lack of sleep. For me, I find on the weekends I really hate to go to bed. I would much rather stay up late and make the most of the weekend. However, I have also experienced first hand that it is much healthier for us to set a consistent bedtime and wake time. If you do this, not only will your body thank you, but you will be more prone to lose weight or maintain weight, and you will also find your mental outlook to be happier and healthier.
Make the most of your sleep!

References

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Davidson JR, et al. Growth hormone and cortisol secretion in relation to sleep and wakefulness. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 1991 July; 16(2): 96-102.

Greer SM, et al. The impact of sleep deprivation on food desire in the human brain. Nat Commun. 2013 Aug 6;4:2259. doi: 10.1038/ncomms3259.

Leproult R, et al. Sleep loss results in an elevation of cortisol levels the next evening. Sleep. 1997 Oct;20(10):865-70.

Schmid SM, et al. A single night of sleep deprivation increases ghrelin levels and feelings of hunger in normal-weight healthy men. J Sleep Res. 2008 Sep;17(3):331-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00662.x. Epub 2008 Jun 28.

Schmid SM, et al. Mild sleep restriction acutely reduces plasma glucagon levels in healthy men. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Dec;94(12):5169-73. doi: 10.1210/jc.2009-0969. Epub 2009 Oct 16.
Simpson NS, et al. Effects of sleep restriction on adiponectin levels in healthy men and women. Physiol Behav. 2010 Dec 2;101(5):693-8. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.08.006. Epub 2010 Aug 17.
Spiegel K, et al. Sleep loss: a novel risk factor for insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. J Appl Physiol. 2005 Nov;99(5):2008-19.

Spiegel K, et al. Leptin levels are dependent on sleep duration: relationships with sympathovagal balance, carbohydrate regulation, cortisol, and thyrotropin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004 Nov;89(11):5762-71.

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