Does sleep schedule affect weight loss and health

I mean it's better for you to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night as opposed to 3 hours. But does it matter when you get your sleep? Would it matter if you went to sleep at 9 pm and woke up at 6 am as opposed to going to sleep at 3 am and waking up at noon.

April 11, 2015

9 Comments • Newest first

hangwithhung

oooomg OT asked about weight loss, too... totally forgot to address that.
uhhh, lots of things. firstly, if you're super tired, you might overeat which would increase your weight. secondly, about the sleep itself, the saying amongst physiologists and pre med students is "rest and digest." You'll find a lot of articles on Google from like Huffington post and whatnot that try and tell you that sleeping after eating is somehow bad for you but if you dig deeper and look into the more study-intensive research articles (which are either published by the researchers or refer extensively to one ore more research articles) that sleeping after a meal doesn't have anything to do with weight gain. However, that being said, eating right before you go to sleep might make you feel uncomfortable and it might reduce how well you sleep :O

Reply April 12, 2015 - edited

Colour

[quote=VoidWreck]Yes, the time you choose to go to sleep matters. From personal experience, I can tell you that I felt more energetic when sleeping at around 9 or 10pm and waking up at around 6:30 or 7am. On other days when I slept after midnight, and woke up at around 9 or 10am, I would wake up feeling groggy with less energy. Look it up on google. Each hour of sleep you get before midnight really affects your performance the next day. I have experienced this myself.[/quote]

Yo man I feel you so hard. I'm usually going to bed at 5am and waking up at 1-2pm steady and I feel the worst and am more inclined to need to take a nap later on in the evening. The times I fix my sleep for bed at 10pm and up at 5am, I'm the most energized ever and never feel the need to nap all day bingbingbang

Reply April 12, 2015 - edited

hangwithhung

@voidwreck that depends on your normal sleep schedule tho and whether or not you've been acclimated to fall asleep at the time of your choosing as well as whether or not your sleep was of good quality. personally, any change in sleeping time results in grogginess and it does take some time for your body to change sleep schedules. however, i think TS was asking about once you get a different sleep schedule down set, if it matters or not.

however, that is a good point. a non-standard sleeping schedule really does wreck your body so it's important to find something and stick with it. apart from that, it's the number of hours that count, as you want to let your body run through a full cycle and wake up before the next one begins.

Reply April 12, 2015 - edited

VoidWreck

Yes, the time you choose to go to sleep matters. From personal experience, I can tell you that I felt more energetic when sleeping at around 9 or 10pm and waking up at around 6:30 or 7am. On other days when I slept after midnight, and woke up at around 9 or 10am, I would wake up feeling groggy with less energy. Look it up on google. Each hour of sleep you get before midnight really affects your performance the next day. I have experienced this myself.

Reply April 12, 2015 - edited

hangwithhung

from what i've heard and read in all my years as a bio major, WHEN you sleep does not matter as much as the LENGTH and QUALITY of your sleep. So, the short answer is: no. All you need to do is catch up on your REM cycles and wake up right as one is ending tho, believe it or not, with all the electrodes and technological advancements, no two books agree on what part of your sleep cycle you should really wake up...

however, it is best to be able to work in your day-schedule (like school and work, which cannot be changed) with your sleep schedule (which can be). it's more of a lifestyle thing than it is a science but as long as you don't feel rushed throughout your day and don't put too much stress on yourself before you go to bed, your sleep will be more restful, too.

but just hit them REM cycles lol.