Why is sleep necessary for better nutrition? 

A quality night of sleep can help us feeling refreshed and energetic the next day.  Sleep also affects our hormone balance.  Too much or too little sleep can cause a hormone imbalance that can affect how much we eat and what we eat.  

Poor quality sleep or not enough sleep results in a hormonal shift that causes you to be hungrier and have more cravings towards energy dense high calorie foods. It also causes you to burn more carbs and less bodyfat for fuel…potentially leading to more muscle loss and less fat loss. 

When you’re wiped out, your hormones go a little nuts by boosting levels of the hormone that tells you when you’re hungry (ghrelin) and decreasing levels of the hormone that tells you you’re full (leptin).  Basically, you just discovered how to stimulate your appetite with no end game.  Your brain is going to tell you are hungry, so you eat.  Your brain is not going to register that you are full so you keep eating. 

Meanwhile, your metabolism slows down because your body is trying to maintain its resources and it wants more fuel. You just increased the amount of calories you ate, decreased the calories your body burned, and increased the amount of fat your body stored. Bottom line is that without these hormones in balance, sleep deprivation is going to make successful weight loss nearly impossible.

How can you prevent this from happening?  Get a good night sleep.  Spend time creating a nighttime routine that prepares your body and your mind for a restful night sleep.