Excessive weight is known to be a health risk for a variety of reasons related to your heart, blood pressure, bones, and much more. However, it’s lesser-known that being overweight can negatively affect your sleep. Restful sleep is important for your health and wellness. However, just because you get 6, 8, or even 10 hours of sleep each night, this doesn’t mean you’re getting restorative sleep. Practicing healthier habits that promote weight loss improves sleep in many adults.
If you’re carrying a significant amount of extra weight, especially belly fat, you may not realize the impact it’s having on your sleep and your overall health. People that are overweight and obese are at an increased risk for sleep problems such as sleep apnea, and other sleep disorders. Poor sleep itself can wreak its own havoc on your energy and wellness. When a person makes the changes in their diet and lifestyle to lose excess weight, they’re getting the added benefit of a better night’s sleep.
How Excessive Weight Affects Your Sleep Quality
Obesity increases the risk of health and wellness problems. The largest impact obesity has on sleep is related to your breathing. Obesity is one of the leading causes of adult sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that causes repetitive upper airway blockage, or resistance. This can have serious consequences, including low blood pressure and excessive daytime sleepiness.
Significantly obese people are also at risk of developing Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome (OHS). OHS happens when the body does not receive sufficient oxygen and does not eliminate enough carbon dioxide while sleeping. OHS can cause extreme daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, and lead to life-threatening medical complications like stroke or sudden death.
OHS is can be treated with an assistive breathing device, such as a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). However, achieving a healthy weight can help eliminate the condition for many people. Chronic sleep disruptions like sleep apnea and OHS increase a person’s risk of high blood pressure, irregular heartbeats, heart attack, and stroke.
How Weight Loss Can Improve Your Sleep Quality
By achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, you can improve your breathing, your sleep, and overall health. By losing excess weight, you reduce the fatty deposits in your soft tissues around your upper airways, allowing proper amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide to be exchanged during sleep and wakefulness. Resolving sleep apnea can improve your lung and heart function as well as your blood pressure and blood sugars.
How a Sleep Medicine Doctor Can Help
Weight loss can help many look better, and more importantly feel better. The human body does a lot of work to keep you going throughout the day, whether you carry excess weight or not. By eliminating excess weight, you help improve your body’s ability to carry out necessary functions such as restful sleep. Restorative, undisrupted sleep is crucial for creating energy for the next day and supporting physical and mental health. If you’re in the process of achieving your weight loss goal but want to get better sleep now, a sleep medicine doctor can assist you.
Dr. Gingras of Gingras Sleep Medicine gets to know each patient individually, ensuring she has a clear picture of their issues and concerns, pinpointing the causes, and creating a personalized treatment plan to get them the relief they need. Get a better night’s sleep today, call Gingras Sleep at (704) 944-0562, or visit our website at http://gingrassleepmedicine.com.