In today’s crazy world, stress is basically an inevitable part of life. Whether it’s from work, finance, health (physical and mental), or relationships, stress impacts our lives (and ultimately our health) in more ways than you might think. One of the most significant ways it impacts our health is by contributing to weight gain. Research has shown that stress can have a profound impact on our eating behavior, metabolism, and overall health (5). This post will explore the link between stress, poor sleep and weight gain, discuss ways in which it impacts our bodies, and why rest and recovery are so important in managing it.

Stress and Appetite: A Complex Relationship

One of the ways in which stress can contribute to weight gain is by affecting our appetite. In particular, stress can increase our cravings for high-fat, sugary foods, and hunger levels, leading to overeating and weight gain. This phenomenon is thought to be related to the release of cortisol, a stress hormone produced by the adrenal glands in response to stress (1).

So how is cortisol impacting our metabolism and appetite? This will get science-y for just a second, but bear with me. When cortisol levels are high, it can increase our insulin resistance, which can lead to the accumulation of fat in the body. Ok, how? Insulin is a complex hormone, and can be a whole other article in itself, but for the context of this article it means that sugar stays in our blood stream vs. entering our cells for metabolism, ultimately getting stored as fat and increases our risk of developing type 2 diabetes (8,9). Additionally, cortisol can stimulate the release of neuropeptide Y, a hormone that can increase appetite and lead to overeating (1).

There’s a study that was published in Psychoneuroendocrinology in 2018 that examined the relationship between stress-induced cortisol and eating behavior in women. The researchers found that women who were exposed to stress had higher levels of cortisol and reported more cravings for sweet, fatty foods than women who were not exposed to stress. This study suggests that stress can significantly impact our eating behavior, contributing to weight gain over time (6). To further the pain, we might not even realize it's happening. It can provide such a release that we think “just a little bit”, which becomes a lot, and after some time, the weight has crept in. This is a prime example of why the weight doesn’t come off even though you can think you’re doing all the right things like working out, eating “healthy” and sleeping (more on this below).

Stress and Metabolism: A Vicious Cycle

Cool, so stress is negatively affecting our appetite, but it can also significantly impact our metabolism. We know about cortisol, but when we are under stress, our bodies also release adrenaline, which can increase our heart rate and blood pressure. While this response can be helpful in the short term (ex: working out), chronic stress can have a drastically negative impact on our metabolism over time. Plus a chronic elevation in heart rate and blood pressure can have other negative health consequences over time (hypertension, heart disease, etc.).

Additionally, this can lead to a decrease in metabolic rate, making it more difficult to lose weight. Metabolic rate determines how many calories your body uses at rest and during activity. It naturally decreases as we get older, however chronic stress can really accelerate this problem. A study published in Biological Psychiatry in 2015 found that women who reported high levels of daily stress had a slower metabolic rate than women who reported lower levels of stress (2). So now we have an increase in appetite, cravings for fatty and sugary foods, and an extra decrease in our metabolic rate. Could it get worse? Yes, yes it can.

Stress and Sleep: A Double Whammy

Another way in which stress can impact our weight is by affecting our sleep patterns. Research has shown that stress can interfere with our ability to get a good night's sleep, leading to (you guessed it) weight gain over time. A study found that women who reported getting less than six hours of sleep per night were more likely to gain weight over time than women who got more sleep (3).

The relationship between stress and sleep is complex, and can be difficult to determine which factor is causing the other. However, it’s clear that chronic stress and poor sleep can contribute to negative health outcomes such as weight gain. Poor sleep can lead to an increase in cortisol levels, which can further exacerbate the impact of stress on our bodies (5). Additionally, it decreases energy expenditure and increases caloric intake, causing weight gain (3). Sleep loss also disrupts the balance of two more hunger hormones: ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is a hormone that stimulates appetite, while leptin is a hormone that signals fullness. When we don't get enough sleep, ghrelin increases and leptin decreases, which again can lead to overeating and weight gain (4,7).

In addition to these physiological changes, poor sleep can also affect our motivation to engage in physical activity. When we're tired, we're more likely to skip exercise or physical activity in favor of sedentary behaviors like watching TV or browsing social media. This can further contribute to weight gain and obesity over time (7).

To recap, stress can cause an increase in appetite through neuropeptide Y, cravings for fatty and sugary foods, extra fat accumulation via insulin resistance caused by chronic elevated cortisol levels, and a decrease in our metabolic rate. Poor sleep also causes an increase in cortisol (contributing to the stress factors above), an increase in appetite stimulating ghrelin, a decrease in fullness signaling leptin, and a decrease in energy levels leading to more sedentary behavior choices. Good grief! Poor sleep and chronic stress seem to have a continuous cascade effect, a constant negative feedback loop.

If you happen to have a weight loss goal, and know you struggle in stress and sleep, you may want to consider ways to try and get these two things under control before you tackle weight loss. This will set you up for greater success, becoming a bit of a safety net against failure. Weight loss is hard, and when we try to tackle it with other factors working against us, it can be defeating. So what can we do about it?

Ways to Manage Sleep and Stress

You may have come across a few of these techniques before, or have had friends and family members recommend them to you. While these might not work for everyone, they are a great place to start. Keep in mind, some of them might feel odd at first, but you just have to open yourself up to trying new things.

Stress:

• Find time for yourself. Often called self-love or self-care. But this is important, as it gives your time to decompress and do something you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be extravagant. In fact, it should be something you can do regularly. Some of these might be:

• Massage (whatever you have access to)

• Heat-therapy (sauna, steam room, bath, or hot tub)

• Meditation (see mindfulness below)

• Reading

• Artistic expression (drawing, painting, singing, playing an instrument, sewing, knitting, scrapbooking, even coloring books!)

• Grooming or skin care routines (if this is relaxing for you)

• Practice mindfulness. Mentioned in the previous category, but rightfully deserves its own. Mindfulness is often intertwined with meditation, but is more nuanced than you might think. This is a practice of reflection and being present in the moment, with the intention of blocking the external for a bit. Sure it can be sitting on a pillow surrounded by earth tones, calming music, aromatherapy, and chakras with a guru guiding you, but for the majority it’s done alone in a quiet and comfortable spot in your house. You’ll be surprised at what something so seemingly simple can do for your state of mind.

• Exercise. Hey, exercise is a treatment for just about anything, ok? And for good reason.

• Yoga. It can both increase your heart rate and stretch your body. 2 for 1 on making you feel better.

• Detox yourself from negativity. This might be social media, the news, certain people in your life, etc. Work might be more of a struggle in this category, since it's something you need to participate in, but there are likely ways you can reduce or restructure any negativity you experience at work.

• Connect or reconnect with community or faith. Take some time to reach out to friends, family, or your higher power. Whatever it is you feel like you need, jump in. Don’t wait for others.

• Avoid drugs and alcohol. These seem like they help, but they are unhealthy coping mechanisms and are going to cause more harm than good. Just don’t do it.

Sleep:

• Create a calm and restful environment. This one is bigger than we give it credit for.

• Declutter. If the room is messy, we’ll feel messy.

• Make it dark. If there is light pollution, do what you can to filter it out. Exterior lights are uncontrollable, so get some blackout curtains, or perhaps use a face mask. Position any interior light sources away from your face.

• Temperature control. Not too hot, not too cold. The ideal room temperature for sleep is around 68 F degrees. If you have a heavy comforter, this may need to be slightly less.

• In extreme cases, you may need to remove electronics (if possible). If you find yourself constantly using a TV at night, consider a no TV in the bedroom policy.

• Make your room an area for sleep and sleep only.

• Routine! Seriously, start going to bed at the same time every night. Don’t stay up watching Netflix, snacking, playing video games, etc. And for the students out there, no studying late. It might require a change in time management, but set your bedtime to give you 7-9 hours of sleep, and work back from there. Eventually your body will reset your internal clock and you’ll start falling asleep more consistently.

• Avoid tech. I briefly mentioned this, but to further the cause, stop staring at your phone when you get into bed. One, you’ve got a blue light shining in your face, suppressing your melatonin (sleep hormone). Two, you’re stimulating your brain and that's having the opposite effect you want when trying to fall asleep.

• Avoid alcohol, caffeine, lots of liquid and calorie heavy foods before bed. There's some debate on the timing of this, and they are not an all or nothing thing. For example, alcohol and caffeine should likely be avoided 6 hours before bed. Food for about 3 hours. Water, about an hour, but also just make sure you pee before going to bed.

• Aromatherapy or other relaxation techniques. Bonus, these also are in the stress section! They promote relaxation, and that can help you fall asleep faster. Lavender, chamomile, and bergamot are great smells to elicit relaxation.

• Get comfy. Try pillows for your body. Everyone’s anatomy is different, and it depends on how squishy your pillows are. Down or other fiber types are best (foam pillows tend to not work as well, in my experience). For back sleepers, try a pillow under your knees and shoulders/armpits. You’re trying to simulate that “zero gravity” position. For side sleepers, a pillow between the thighs, and one in front or under your top arm to support it and prevent your shoulder from hanging over.

The relationship between stress and weight gain is complicated, with many different factors at play. Research has shown that chronic stress and poor sleep contribute to a variety of health conditions such as weight gain, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease and we should do what we can to reduce stress as much as possible.  While it is not always easy, and larger factors may be at play, it is best to start wherever you can to manage stress and improve sleep quality, no matter how small and insignificant it may seem. When these two things improve in our life, we’re not only happier, but we are primed and ready to tackle other health challenges we may face. If you need more professional help, reach out to me! My health coaching program covers stress management and sleep health with personalized and guided instruction.

References

1. Epel, E., Lapidus, R., McEwen, B., Brownell, K. D., & Nestler, E. J. (2018). Stress may add bite to appetite in women: a laboratory study of stress-induced cortisol and eating behavior. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 88, 153-161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.12.010

2. Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Habash, D. L., Fagundes, C. P., Andridge, R., Peng, J., Malarkey, W. B., & Belury, M. A. (2015). Daily stressors, past depression, and metabolic responses to high-fat meals: a novel path to obesity. Biological Psychiatry, 77(7), 653-660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.09.005

3. Markwald, R. R., Melanson, E. L., Smith, M. R., Higgins, J., Perreault, L., Eckel, R. H., & Wright Jr, K. P. (2013). Impact of insufficient sleep on total daily energy expenditure, food intake, and weight gain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(14), 5695-5700. https://www.pnas.org/content/110/14/5695

4. Nedeltcheva, A. V., Kilkus, J. M., Imperial, J. G., Schoeller, D. A., & Penev, P. D. (2019). Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity. Annals of Internal Medicin

5. e, 171(11), 840-841.  https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/L19-0427

6. Patel, S. R., Malhotra, A., White, D. P., Gottlieb, D. J., & Hu, F. B. (2019). Association between reduced sleep and weight gain in women. American Journal of Epidemiology, 189(7), 612-622. https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwy230

7. Pulopulos, M, Vanderhasselt, M., De Raedt, R. (2018) Association between changes in heart rate variability during the anticipation of a stressful situation and the stress-induced cortisol response. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 94, 63-71, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.05.004 

8. Spaeth, A. M., Dinges, D. F., & Goel, N. (2013). Effects of experimental sleep restriction on weight gain, caloric intake, and meal timing in healthy adults. Sleep, 36(7), 981-990. https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/36/7/981/2453959

9. Torres, S. J., & Nowson, C. A. (2017). Relationship between stress, eating behavior, and obesity. Nutrition, 33, 252-258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2016.08.010

10. Wardle, J. (2018). Stress and obesity. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 77(2), 160-165. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665117004196