Most of us are greatly concerned about losing weight, incredibly stubborn belly fat. Hitting the gym is a great way to lose that fat, but do you know you can do it while sleeping too? Yes, you heard that right! Your body does a lot at night when you are fast asleep.
Good sleep promotes good health, and a lot of time, people who are not sleeping well gain weight. When you sleep, your metabolic system runs faster, enabling a better, healthier you. There are some ways in which you can help your body by making this process more effective. Sleeping in the right positions is one of them.
Sounds easy? Keep on reading to find out more!
Sleeping On the Stomach – Prone Position
In the prone position, you lie down on your stomach. Stomach sleeping generally gets a lot of hate from medical experts due to the adverse effects it can have on your body. It puts pressure on the wrong points in your body, leaving you with spinal aches.
In comparison, we have some good news for all stomach sleepers. If done correctly, stomach sleeping can have benefits for you. This position can be significant in some cases to heal back aches. Sleeping on your stomach helps to maintain your oxygen saturation levels and helps you with breathing issues during nighttime (also check 10 amazing mattresses for stomach sleepers).
Experts say this position can help you reduce your belly fat. Amazing! When you sleep on your stomach, all your weight gets pulled towards your belly area. It puts pressure over there, and this pressure blocks your abdomen. This, in turn, stops fat from accumulating in the area around your abdomen. Because of this, you prevent belly fat from forming just by sleeping on your stomachs (also check the best selling mattress toppers for stomach sleepers).
This gift from nature needs to be regulated with a lot of care. You need to be very careful with your stomach sleeping. Make sure you do not sleep in this position throughout the night. Stick to combination sleeping at best with only a couple of hours dedicated to stomach sleeping.
This will prevent you from facing all the issues medical experts fear regarding stomach sleeping. Use the right pillow to support your head and neck (also check the top rated pillows for stomach sleeper). You don’t want to end up straining your neck in an attempt to lose belly fat.
Sleeping On the Back – Supine Position
The Supine position is when you lay straight on your back to get optimal sleep. According to medical experts, your back faces the mattress in this position, which is the healthiest position to sleep in most cases.
This is the best position you can sleep in, but it is the least popular. You will find that most people prefer sleeping on their sides and stomachs. Back sleeping is so beneficial; it uses gravity to prevent wrinkles from appearing on your face. Not only this, it keeps your head, neck, and back aligned in a neutral position (also check 10 amazing mattresses for back pain). You are not curled up like when you sleep on your sides, putting extra pressure on any part of your body.
It helps big time with acid reflux, and when you lay on your back, it helps you lose belly fat. How? What happens is that all the food and energy you consume throughout the day is stopped from turning into body fat. It instead turns into energy and gets stored to be used the other day once you are up and about your daily chores.
However, to ensure you sleep effectively on your back, you need to have the right pillow and mattress (check 10 great pillows for back sleepers) that provides the best balance between firm support and pressure relief.
Can You Really Burn Fat While Sleeping?
Sleep has a lot of benefits, including helping you burn fat while sleeping. Experts claim that night’s 8-10 hours of sleep promote a healthy metabolism that promotes fat burning at a higher rate. When you sleep at night, all the glucose molecules in your bloodstream end up being burned and used for energy since you don’t eat while you sleep, and there is no insulin present in your bloodstream, so your body uses the stored fat as energy at night.
When you are asleep, your body releases a growth hormone that helps you burn fat. As opposed to this, sleeping only 4-5 hours at night triggers cortisol in your body, which is a stress hormone. This hormone prepares your body to conserve energy for your waking hours by storing fat in it. So, this works opposite to the growth hormone that promotes fat burning. So yes, sleeping well does help in burning your body fat.
Essential Factors to Lose Belly Fat While You Sleep
If You Eat at Night, Keep It Small
Eat right and sleep tight is the mantra you need to follow for a healthy life. Foods that are not high on calories and promote your metabolism are necessary for your diet when trying to lose belly fat. How much you eat and when you eat both these factors have a huge impact on your weight loss journey. When you eat late at night or in large amounts, your body breaks down less fat than when you eat during the daytime.
Several types of research have proven this. Instead of fats, your body breaks carbs when you eat late, which confirms that you should not eat late at night and, if you do- take a small snack.
Try A Protein Shake
More protein and fewer fats in your diet help manage burning belly fat. Proteins are more fulfilling than just carbs, and they help your metabolism work faster. Protein shakes help a lot with your weight loss. They are dense and take longer to digest, and will help you stay full for longer periods. So, try inculcating protein shakes in your diet and burn that fat away.
Relax With Breathing, Meditation, or Stretching
Yoga and exercise help big time with your weight loss journeys. Meditating and breathing exercises help your body get in tune with the world around you. Consistency is the key to weight loss, and meditating helps you stay focused on your goals.
Keep the body in the Cold Environment
With new research being done every day, you keep finding new ways to lose that stubborn fat from your body. A study says that cold air may help burn fat to keep your body warm. Exposure to cold air may help people in burning fat. When you feel cold, your body needs to feel warm, and it does that by burning the fat in your body.
Eat Whole Grains at Lunch
Whole grains are the healthiest food options, and lunchtime is the best time to consume these. These fill you up quickly and give you a lot of energy to function. They increase weight loss because most of them are fibers that leave your body and do not stay in during your digestion. Lunch is the best time to have these as they keep you full until you go to sleep and do not retain any fat.
Key Takeaways: Sleeping Position To Lose Belly Fat
The Link Between Sleep and Weight Loss
Good sleep can accelerate metabolism and assist in burning fat, with certain sleeping positions enhancing this effect.
Benefits of Stomach Sleeping
Although often discouraged, stomach sleeping can inhibit belly fat accumulation when done correctly and in combination with other positions.
Advantages of Back Sleeping
Deemed the healthiest position, back sleeping can prevent food and energy from converting into fat, promoting weight loss. It also ensures proper body alignment.
Fat Burning During Sleep Explained
8-10 hours of sleep boost metabolism and fat burning. On the other hand, insufficient sleep can increase fat storage due to stress hormones.
Tips for Nighttime Fat Loss
Limiting large and late-night meals, incorporating protein shakes, practicing meditation, and sleeping in colder environments can further aid in burning belly fat.
Conclusion:
The journey of weight loss is not an easy one. Especially if your target is belly fat, this is the stubbornest part of your fat and takes a lot to make it go away. Big things like going to the gym, regular exercises, and so on do help, but the little things help us make most of this journey. Sleeping right is the best thing you can do to burn all that accumulated belly fat.
Sleeping position to lose belly fat FAQs
How Should You Sleep to Lose Belly Fat?
You can easily lose belly fat by promoting your metabolic system while you sleep. This can be done by sleeping on your back or stomach. But you need to be cautious while doing so and follow proper medical guidelines to stay healthy.
Does Sleeping on Your Stomach Flatten It?
No, sleeping on your stomach does not flatten it. Instead, sleeping on your stomach throughout the night ends up pulling your stomach weight towards the bed and leaving your back in an awkward arched shape. This, in turn, can cause many health issues, but it will not flatten your stomach.
How Should a Fat Person Sleep?
People on the heavier side should avoid sleeping entirely on their backs and stomachs. A combination of sleeping positions with side sleeping as a primary position works best for fat people overall.
Does Lack of Sleep Cause Weight Gain or Loss?
Lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body releases a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol traps in fat instead of burning it to be used as energy the following day. This is how you end up gaining weight by not sleeping enough.