Sleep More, Weigh Less

Posted on Dec 3rd 2009 3:35PM by Amanda Younger

woman on scale
Patric Shaw

Provided by Glamour

When a doctor recently swore to a "Glamour" editor that he could help women lose weight just by making over their sleep habits, we were dubious. Research has linked lack of sleep to weight gain, but certainly weight loss requires hard work, diet and exercise -- right? We decided to put it to the test. Sleep and medical experts Michael Breus, Ph.D., and Steven Lamm, M.D., created a plan for seven "Glamour" readers of varying weights. The women's one simple goal: Get at least seven and a half hours of sleep a night. That's it. In fact, we asked the women not to make any significant diet or exercise changes -- we wanted to see if sleep and sleep alone would make a difference. Did it ever! Week by week, we were amazed by the results the women reported.

Click on the arrows below to see their incredible weight loss results.

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Lose Weight While You Sleep

These women lost weight in 10 weeks just by getting more sleep. See their weight loss results and get the exact makeover plan the volunteers followed. It worked for them, and it'll work for you.

Patric Shaw

How to Lose Weight with Sleep

These women lost weight in 10 weeks just by getting more sleep. See their weight loss results and get the exact makeover plan the volunteers followed. It worked for them, and it'll work for you.

Patric Shaw

Brelyn Johnson, 28, lost 10 pounds.

Patric Shaw

Ehmonie Hainey, 33, lost 15 pounds.

Patric Shaw

Réal Hamilton-Romeo, 30, dropped seven pounds.

Patric Shaw

Kate Foley, 25, lost six pounds.

Patric Shaw

Paige Barr, 35, shed 12 pounds.

Patric Shaw

The minimum amount of sleep you need for weight loss is seven and a half hours a night, our experts say. But the closer you can get to your ideal sleep time (see step 4 -- coming up -- to figure that out) the better your results will be. (Sorry, but sleeping more than that won't help you drop more pounds!) And you don't have to be clinically overweight for this to work.

What to do:

1. Go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.

Write down the time you need to get up in the morning, then count back seven and a half hours. That is the time you need to be in bed. But we're not out to kill all your fun: On Friday or Saturday nights, you can go to bed one or two hours later than usual and sleep in one or two hours the next morning -- as long as you get your required seven and a half hours.

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2. Start a bedtime routine.

Create a presleep ritual -- such as light reading, a hot bath, stretching -- beginning somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour before the time you've planned to close your eyes. Pretty soon, your body will start to associate specific actions with relaxation and falling asleep. And turn off your TV, computer, BlackBerry and cell phone before that time begins. "When your brain senses light shining in your eyes, it stimulates the wake response and lowers melatonin, the hormone that cues you to feel drowsy," says Steven Park, M.D., author of "Sleep, Interrupted."

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3. Watch your caffeine and alcohol habits.

Don't have any caffeine after 2:30 P.M. (including caffeinated tea and soda), and avoid sipping alcohol three hours before bedtime. Booze may knock you out at first, but it keeps you from getting deep sleep, says Breus. As the sleep-inducing powers wear off, you may even wake up.

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