How to Burn Calories While Sleeping

Changing Your Eating Habits

Stick to a sleeping and eating schedule so your body efficiently burns calories. Your body burns calories more effectively when you follow a natural circadian rhythm. Try to sleep and wake at the same time every day. Importantly, you should also eat your meals around the same time each day. This helps your body regulate your resting metabolism. You can schedule your meals and snacks whenever it's convenient for you but stick with those times. For instance, if you wake 2 hours early, wait to have breakfast instead of consuming the calories before your body needs them.

Stop drinking alcohol 3 hours before bedtime. Alcoholic drinks are full of calories that don't offer a nutritional benefit and it can disrupt your sleep cycle. Try to cut back on how much you drink and stop drinking alcohol at least 3 hours before you go to sleep so you have more restorative sleep. Tip: Drinking alcohol also makes it harder to get a full, restful night of sleep. This is because your body begins to metabolize the alcohol about halfway through the night, which can disrupt your sleep.

Have your last meal 3 hours before you go to sleep. It's easy to keep snacking right up until bedtime. Unfortunately, your digestion slows down while you sleep so it takes longer for you to digest snacks or late-night meals. Give yourself a cut-off time that's at least 3 hours before you go to bed. If you have a medical condition like diabetes, ask your doctor if they recommend having a small snack that's high in nutrients before bed.

Eat cereal with milk if you usually have a nightly snack. If you frequently snack late at night and right before bed, you're filling up on calories that your body will have to burn or store. To help you manage the cravings and your weight, eat a small bowl of cereal with low-fat milk about 90 minutes after you eat dinner. Choose cereal that's low in sugar and high in fiber. Stick to a single serving so you don't overeat before bed.

Adjusting Your Bedtime Routine

Stop exercising 6 hours before bedtime. You probably know that staying active is one of the best ways to burn a lot of calories, but exercising right before you go to bed can make it harder to fall asleep. Since your body burns calories while you sleep to repair muscles, try to get your workout in during the day and add strength training exercises. Strength training exercises, such as weight lifting, help your body metabolize calories for a longer period of time than cardio exercises.

Turn your bedroom temperature to 66 °F (19 °C). It might seem strange, but turning down the thermostat makes your body work harder to stay warm. If you usually keep the temperature between 75 and 80 °F (24 and 27 °C), turning it down to 66 °F (19 °C) will help your body burn more calories. If it's summertime, crank up your air conditioner before you go to bed so the temperature falls to 66 °F (19 °C).

Stop looking at screens at least 1 hour before going to bed. Don't look at phones, tablets, computer screens, or televisions since they emit blue light. The blue light messes with your circadian rhythm, which affects your metabolism and makes it harder to fall asleep. Did You Know? Researchers found that increased light exposure before bed can actually lead to weight gain, even if you're exercising and counting calories.

Sleep in complete darkness so you produce more melatonin. Hang a pair of blackout curtains in your room and remove night lights. The absolute darkness helps your body release more melatonin. You've probably heard that melatonin helps you sleep, but it also creates fat cells that burn calories. If your room still isn't as dark as you'd like, buy a sleep mask that you can pull down over your eyes. This can comfortably block light so you can get restful sleep.

Get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep to regulate your metabolism. Your body does a lot of work while you sleep! As you rest, your body releases hormones that repair muscle and help your cells grow, both of which use up calories. Hormones that control your metabolism also burn calories while you sleep. People who get less than 6 hours of sleep a night are more likely to be overweight or obese.