A good night's sleep gives your body the chance to recover. While you sleep, your hormones are regulated, your brain processes the day's impressions, and your muscles and other tissues repair themselves. When you sleep poorly for a longer period, that balance is disrupted. This affects not only how you feel, but also your weight.

Poor sleep makes weight loss harder

After a short or restless night, you often notice that you're hungrier. That's no coincidence.

When you sleep poorly, several hormones involved in hunger and satiety change. The hormone ghrelin, which stimulates your appetite, increases. At the same time, leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full, decreases.

As a result, you feel hungrier and don't feel full as quickly after a meal.

Your body also becomes more sensitive to stress. The stress hormone cortisol stays elevated for longer, which makes you crave quick energy in the form of sweet or high-calorie foods more often.

So not only do you produce more hunger hormones, it also becomes harder to resist temptation.

Less energy often means less movement

Lack of sleep has another effect.

When you're tired, you often have less energy to move. You're more likely to take the car instead of the bike, take the lift instead of the stairs, or skip a walk.

That's entirely human. Your body is trying to save energy when it hasn't been able to recover properly.

This quietly creates a vicious circle: you sleep less well, move less, feel hungrier, and find it easier to make less healthy choices.

Sleep supports your metabolism

Much more happens during sleep than just resting.

Your body repairs muscles, regulates hormones and supports processes that are important for a healthy metabolism. Sleep also affects your insulin sensitivity.

When you sleep poorly for a longer period, your body is less able to handle fluctuations in blood sugar. This increases the likelihood of feeling hungry and makes losing weight more difficult.

So a good night's sleep doesn't just help your body recover, it also supports the processes that contribute to a healthy weight.

How much sleep do you need?

Most adults feel best with seven to nine hours of sleep per night.

It's not just the duration that matters, but also the quality of your sleep. Waking up frequently, having trouble falling asleep or waking very early can mean your body doesn't recover sufficiently, even if you spend enough time in bed.

Not waking up rested? Consider sleep apnoea

Sometimes the cause of tiredness isn't just too little sleep, but poorer sleep quality. A common cause is sleep apnoea. With this condition, your breathing stops several times a night while you sleep, so you repeatedly stop breathing and can become short of oxygen without being aware of it.

Many people think sleep apnoea only affects men who snore loudly. Yet we also regularly see it in women, especially when they are overweight. In women, sleep apnoea often shows up less clearly. Symptoms such as persistent fatigue, morning headaches, difficulty concentrating, mood swings or frequent waking can also point to sleep apnoea.

Do you feel that you never wake up truly rested, despite getting seven to nine hours of sleep? Do you snore a lot, does your partner wake up because you stop breathing, or do you easily fall asleep during the day? Then discuss this with your doctor or GP. Sleep apnoea can be readily investigated and is often very treatable. Better sleep can not only improve your energy, but also contribute to a healthier metabolism and make it easier to reach and maintain a healthy weight.

What can you do yourself to sleep better?

A good night's sleep often starts during the day.

Try to go to bed and get up at around the same time every day, including at weekends. This supports your body clock.

Move regularly. Walking, cycling or strength training during the day helps many people fall asleep more easily in the evening. Intense exercise just before bed, on the other hand, can be stimulating and make it harder to fall asleep.

Spend as much time outdoors during the day as you can (ideally in the morning). Daylight regulates your body clock and helps your body maintain a healthy sleep-wake rhythm.

Limit caffeine in the afternoon and evening. Coffee, energy drinks and some types of tea can affect your sleep for hours.

Alcohol may seem relaxing, but it actually disrupts the quality of your sleep. You may fall asleep faster, but you wake up more often during the night and sleep less deeply.

Ideally, put your phone, laptop or tablet away an hour before bed. The light from screens suppresses the production of melatonin, the hormone that helps your body feel sleepy. It's also better not to work or watch TV in bed, as your brain then associates the bedroom with activity, whereas it's better to associate the bedroom only with rest and sleep.

Also make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark and cool. Many people sleep best in a room of around eighteen degrees.

Do you find yourself lying in bed worrying? Try a breathing or relaxation exercise. You can also read a book, or listen to calm music, a guided meditation or a podcast. If none of this works, it can sometimes help to get out of bed for a moment to drink some (warm or lukewarm) water or do some gentle yoga. Don't stay up too long, and go back to bed after about half an hour, for example.

Small improvements already make a difference

You don't have to sleep perfectly every night.

Often, a few small changes already lead to more energy during the day and better sleep at night. And the better you sleep, the easier it often becomes to make healthy choices, move enough and keep your appetite in check.

Sleeping well is also taking care of yourself

Sleep isn't a luxury, but an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

Diet, exercise, hormones, stress and sleep constantly influence one another. When one of these gets out of balance, you often notice it in other areas too.

That's why we always look at the bigger picture. Not because you have to do everything perfectly, but because it's precisely the combination of small, achievable changes that helps you reach and maintain a healthy weight.