Although the concept of burning fat while you sleep seems dreamlike, it’s actually grounded in reality. A concept you may be more familiar with is that sleep loss over time can contribute to weight gain, so let’s start there.
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1. Sleep More
This may not be the most exciting thing to start off our list, but hopefully it’s the easiest and most realistic to implement into your lifestyle.
To understand how sleeping more can help you burn fat, we need to look closely at the hormones leptin and ghrelin.
Leptin, a hormone released from fat cells, suppresses hunger and signals fullness in the brain.
Ghrelin, a hormone released in the stomach, stimulates hunger and signals hunger in the brain.
When you don’t get enough sleep, your body produces more ghrelin and less leption. This means that the less sleep you get, the hungrier you feel, and the higher the likelihood that you will eat more.
A study performed at the University of Wisconsin found that participants who got more sleep than their counterparts had reduced ghrelin and increased leptin levels, which in turn helped to control their appetites throughout the day.
So, sleeping more will help to regulate your leptin and ghrelin levels, which doesn’t burn fat while you sleep per se, but stabilizes your appetite so that you don’t eat more than you should.
2. Resistance Training
Okay, so this one does include breaking a sweat - but not while you sleep. Let us explain.
Resistance training is training designed to increase the body's strength, power, and muscular endurance through resistance exercise. The most common form of resistance training is weight training.
Doing resistance training before bed can help you burn fat in your sleep because it increases your resting metabolic rate (RMR). Your RMR is the number of calories your body burns when you’re completely at rest.
According to a journal published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition, participants who performed resistance training had a higher RMR for an average of 16 hours following their workout.
So, essentially, sweat now and continue burning fat until much later.
3. Take Supplements
Taking a supplement before bed is another way to help your body burn fat while you sleep.
Fat burning supplements are some of the most controversial supplements on the market because manufacturers often promote them as overnight solutions to weight problems, which is not the case. Supplements, if they work, only work in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle.
Fat burning supplements also do not have to be regulated by the FDA, so many fat burning supplements have been proven to be ineffective and even harmful.
That being said, there are some highly acclaimed fat burning supplements out there for those who want to try them.
One of these fat-burning supplements is Dr. Emil’s Bedtime Burn. We like it because it’s free of GMOs, harsh stimulants, gluten, and all top 8 allergens.
It’s formulated with ingredients known to calm the mind and the body while promoting more restful sleep, proven to be highly effective for both men and women, and works as a fat burner, appetite suppressant, and sleep aid all in one.
Dr. Emil’s Bedtime Burn has been featured in Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Prevention, Medi Checks, and Yahoo!
But, as with all supplements, they work best in addition to a healthy lifestyle.
Dr. Emil Hodzovic says himself, "Containing both fat burning and sleep supporting ingredients, Bedtime burn is the perfect pre-bed supplement for getting in shape, especially when combined with diet and exercise."
4. Have a High Protein Snack Before Bed
Although eating right before bed isn’t the best thing to do to promote fat burning in your sleep, consuming something high in protein sometime before you hit the mattress can boost your metabolism and help you burn fat while you sleep.
One Florida State University study found that men who consumed an evening snack with at least 30 grams of protein had a higher resting metabolic rate the next morning than when compared with eating nothing before bed.
Protein is more thermogenic than carbs or fat, meaning your body burns more calories digesting it. So, consuming something high in protein before bed, rather than something high in carbs or fat, allows your body to burn more calories while digesting it in your sleep.
5. Turn Up the Air Conditioning
We were surprised to learn that making your room just slightly colder at night can actually help you burn fat in your sleep. But before you run to turn up the air conditioning, let us break down the science behind it first.
A study published in the journal Diabetes claims that colder temperatures subtly enhance the effectiveness of our stores of brown fat.
Brown fat is fat that breaks down blood sugar (glucose) and fat molecules to create heat and help maintain body temperature.
Participants in the study spent a few weeks sleeping in bedrooms with varying temperatures. These temperatures included a neutral 75 degrees, a cooler 66 degrees, and a warmer 81 degrees. After four weeks of sleeping at 66 degrees, the participants had almost doubled their volumes of brown fat. And “doubling their volumes of brown fat” means that they lost belly fat!
The Takeaway
Although burning fat in your sleep may sound like something out of a dream, it’s actually possible because your body is capable of doing the most amazing things.
Five things you can do to promote burning fat while you sleep are:
- Sleep more
- Resistance training
- Take supplements
- Have a high protein snack before bed
- Turn up the air conditioning
In this case, when you snooze, you don’t lose.
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