The human body is constantly burning calories to maintain the workings of the involuntary nervous system — breathing, pumping blood, food digestion, and other functions vital for the sustenance of life. It is no longer news that the more muscle a person has, the more calories the body burns while at rest, but do you also know that one can burn calories even while asleep? There is evidence pointing to this. With a few tweaks to your activities of daily living, you can unleash your body’s natural fat-burning potential while asleep.
This article will discuss some tips on enhancing fat burning while sleeping.
1.Sip some white tea
White tea is not as popular as green tea, no doubt, but it is produced from the same plant as green tea. It contains plenty of antioxidants and has many health benefits, such as fat loss. In addition, studies have shown that white tea extract inhibits the conversion of cells into fat and stimulates the breakdown of fat. Studies (1) have shown that white tea extract inhibits cells from becoming fat and stimulates the breakdown of fat.
2.Eat carbs in the daytime
You must consume most of your calories, especially carbohydrates, during the daytime. However, reduce the number of carbs that you drink at night. By eating more of your carbs in the day, you’ll head to bed with deficient insulin levels in your blood, which means that your body can burn more fat for energy while you are sleeping.
3.Down a protein shake before bedtime
Do you feel hungry in the evening? Why not shake up a protein drink for yourself? Downing protein before sleep time helps you build lean muscle mass (2) and also aids the repair of cells and muscles.
4.Eat foods that induce sleep
You must eat foods that contain plenty of tryptophan. Tryptophan is an amino acid. Examples of foods rich in tryptophan include eggs, chicken, and turkey. Tryptophan promotes sleep and relaxation. Also, proteins cause your body to burn more calories during digestion. This enhances your body’s ability to burn more fat when sleeping.
5.Darken your room before bedtime
Exposing yourself to light before sleep time isn’t good for your health. Sleeping in the dark triggers the release of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that helps regulate blood pressure, sleep, cortisol, and body temperature. A study (3) found that exposing women to light at bedtime increased their risk of developing breast cancer by 22 percent. Another study (4) found that exposure to bedtime light led to higher rates of depression, and depression is known to cause weight gain.
Melatonin also stimulates the production of brown fat. Brown fat production helps in the metabolism of calories, so you must turn off your electronics at least one hour before bedtime. Also, make sure that your room is dark while you sleep.
6.Stay hydrated
Staying hydrated is very important. Studies have shown that drinking at least 8 cups of water daily boosts metabolism (5). Also, drinking ice-cold water requires your body to use more calories to heat the water to body temperature. This increases your body’s metabolism boost.
7.Eating nuts helps
Eating a handful of nuts like almonds and walnuts (6) can trigger the release of more melatonin, thus promoting better sleep. They also keep your heart in good health.
8.Spice your meals
Increase your consumption of red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and other hot peppers. Studies (7) have shown that hot peppers aid in thermogenesis (burning fat). In addition, these foods contain capsaicin which is known to have a thermogenic effect, stimulating the burning of fat and more calories.
