I notice that if I don’t get enough sleep, I don’t lose weight. On top of that, I sometimes will gain weight. I think it’s water weight that I’m retaining, but the fact remains that in my experience, not getting enough sleep results in no weight loss. On the other hand, when I get 7.5 hours or more of sleep each night, the scale is nice to me the following morning.

It turns out that we lose weight in our sleep. As we rest, our bodies are busy using energy that we stored up to keep us alive until we wake up the next morning. The longer we sleep, the more of that stored energy that is used. How is it lost? Well, we exhale it mostly. The rest is turned into liquid waste which is why we typically need to use the restroom to empty our bladders when we wake up.

Our bodies are fascinating and the processes and functions it performs are all finely tuned. We need to learn to recognize these processes and allow them to be carried out properly. Get enough sleep. Not only will you feel better in the morning, but you’ll likely be a little lighter, too.