Sleep, Metabolism & Weight Gain – It’s All Connected

One of the trickiest parts of perimenopause is untangling one symptom from another. A perfect example is the connection between sleep and weight during perimenopause. Sleep disturbances and weight gain are two of the most common menopause challenges—but did you realize that they go hand-in-hand?

Sleep Struggles During Menopause

According to an article in the International Journal of Endocrinology, we are a “sleep-deprived society” that now gets an average of 6.8 hours of sleep per night compared to 9 hours one century ago.

Struggles with sleep are particularly common around menopause: about 40-60% of peri- and post-menopausal women experience disrupted sleep, and 31-42% meet the criteria for insomnia.

Why? Night sweats, breathing difficulties and aches and pains can wake you up, while anxiety and depression can make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep. Hormone-related changes in your body’s sleep/wake rhythms can themselves lead to lighter, more frequently interrupted sleep.

How Sleep Affects Metabolism

During normal sleep, your metabolism and hormones shift in a way that helps you recover from the day. Normal sleep also helps your body’s energy systems better use digested food for fuel during the next day.

If you experience a short-term sleep disruption like a late night out celebrating or emergency all-nighter with a sick child, your body can rebound relatively quickly. However, bodies are less resilient after consecutive weeks or months of poor sleep.

These chronic and “partial” sleep disturbances result in metabolism dysregulation—a loss of the normal body processes that help you use and store energy.

Three main mechanisms explain how poor sleep interferes with metabolism:

1. Glucose regulation. Long-term sleep deprivation impairs how effectively the body uses glucose. This can lead to high blood sugar, insulin resistance, and ultimately weight gain.
2. Sympathetic nervous system. Poor sleep has been linked to greater sympathetic nervous system activation. This is the “fight or flight” response that we associate with feeling stressed or anxious. An overactive sympathetic nervous system can impair digestion and further throw your metabolism off track.
3. Inflammation. Sleep deprivation is associated with higher evidence of inflammation in the body, as well as an impaired immune system which affects glucose metabolism and storage.

How Poor Sleep Leads to Weight Gain

People who routinely get fewer than six hours of sleep per night are significantly more likely to have metabolic syndrome, which involves increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and/or abnormal cholesterol levels.

With a wonky metabolism, it makes sense that weight changes might follow. Sleep’s effects on weight may go beyond metabolism, too.

When you’re tired, you tend to make different choices throughout the day. For example, having a poor night’s sleep might make you more likely to seek out:

• Sugar and simple carbs. When your energy is low, pretzels, chips, cookies and more will quickly pick you back up. However, sweets and carbs are less filling and run the risk of putting you on a blood sugar rollercoaster that results in cravings and even more fatigue. While there’s certainly a place for sweets in your diet, leaning on them to gain more energy is not an effective long-term strategy.
• More food overall. Some studies have found that sleep deprivation is associated with lower levels of the “fullness hormone” (leptin) and higher “hunger hormone” levels (ghrelin), resulting in increased appetite.
• Coffee. Your antioxidant-rich cup of Joe may be a healthful choice in moderation, but drinking more than a couple of cups of coffee per day can amplify your body’s sympathetic nervous system response. Increased cortisol levels, in turn, alter your blood sugar in a way that increases cravings.

On top of that, feeling fatigued can make exercise seem unappealing. Exercise is one of the cornerstones of maintaining a healthy weight and metabolism, but it’s hard to stay consistent with physical activity when you’ve slept poorly and would rather lounge.

So, Does Poor Sleep in Menopause Cause Weight Gain?

It’s clear from the research that getting enough sleep has an impact on our metabolism. It’s also likely that the sluggish, tired feeling we get from poor sleep can lead to changes in our eating and movement patterns.

As is often the case with menopause, it’s hard to determine a clear cause-and-effect relationship between hormones and symptoms. Remember that mood changes, aging, and other variables also play an interconnected role in weight and sleep changes during menopause.

Focus on Sleep for Weight Management

If you’re looking to lose or manage your weight around menopause, maximizing your sleep can be a helpful strategy in your toolbox. Studies have established seven to eight hours of high-quality sleep per night as a healthy goal.

Sleeping more than nine hours per night does not seem to offer additional benefits – and is linked to higher rates of type II diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure.

Sleep hygiene is a great place to start. Check the expert-backed sleep hygiene tips in the resource tool kit that will set you up for success. Want more guidance? Book a session with a Midday coach.

Here’s what else you can do:

• If you’re feeling sugar or carb cravings related to low energy, pair those foods with foods containing protein or fat. The pairing will result in a more balanced blood sugar response that keeps your energy levels more consistent.
• If you feel too tired to be active, remember that starting is usually the most challenging part! If an intense workout seems daunting, start smaller with a walk or a 15-minutes of strength work. Small bouts of exercise can make a big difference in your fitness, metabolism, and energy.

Getting your sleep on track can take time, but your persistence will pay off!