Sleep: How It Affects Your Weight and Contributes to Your Eating Disorder
If you’ve struggled with disordered eating or any weight-related challenges, you might be used to seeing diet and exercise as the key levers to pull. Yet another factor, often overlooked, could make an enormous difference in your journey toward balance and recovery: A consistent, healthy bedtime routine is an invaluable tool that can profoundly influence how you feel about your body, handle cravings, and relate to food.
Studies and experience alike reveal that insufficient sleep is closely linked to weight gain, disordered eating behaviors, and the way we manage stress. A 15-year study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics discovered that even partial sleep deprivation correlates with weight gain and a heightened risk of obesity. These findings reinforce what clinicians have observed for years: that inadequate sleep often forms part of the eating disorder profile.
Yet, more than 28% of American adults are sleep-deprived, defined as getting less than six hours of shut-eye each night, and over 35% are obese. This overlap is no coincidence. It reveals that sleep deprivation does far more than leave us tired—it impacts our ability to make healthy decisions, manage stress, and relate to food and eating habits.
As a clinician specializing in eating disorder recovery, I work with individuals who want to move beyond the behaviors and thought patterns that sustain an eating disorder. My clients want lasting relief and peace. This work goes deeper than finding a quick fix for binge eating or restricting symptoms. Instead, we dive into what sustainable recovery truly looks like and what’s required to nurture it. Examining slumber habits is an essential and often surprisingly powerful part of this work.
Why Sleep Matters in Recovery
You might be thinking: What does getting my zzz's have to do with my eating disorder or weight issues? For those who struggle with disordered eating, sleep may feel like a refuge—a time when you’re not eating, judging your body, or navigating complex feelings about food. However, the relationship between sleep and eating is more dynamic and intricate. Some individuals with eating disorders even find themselves eating at night, as sleep issues and eating patterns can intermingle in complex ways.
In recovery, the goal is to restore a healthy, balanced harmony within the mind, body, and spirit. In this state, you’re resilient enough to handle life’s challenges without turning to disordered eating or other harmful coping mechanisms. Recovery means growing into a fuller, more whole self without needing to fill the gaps with your eating disorder. Achieving this balance requires consistency in nourishment, and adequate sleep is an essential part of that nourishment.
Sleep deprivation disrupts our emotions, distorts our perceptions, and compromises our ability to handle stress and make sound decisions. It’s easy to underestimate how deeply this impacts our eating patterns and overall well-being. Here’s how a lack of sleep can fuel unhealthy eating habits:
- Distorted Perceptions: When you’re exhausted, your perception of yourself and others is skewed. You may be more prone to misinterpreting people’s intentions or comments, leading to unnecessary arguments or anxiety. When we feel more vulnerable emotionally, the appeal of food as a comforting or numbing tool increases.
- Emotional Vulnerability: Sleep-deprived brains are wired to seek comfort, and for many, that translates to high-calorie, carbohydrate-heavy foods. When you’re tired, it’s harder to cope with stressful situations, which can lead to increased emotional eating or binge episodes as you seek immediate relief.
- Hunger and Cravings: Research has shown that sleep deprivation impacts hormones such as leptin and ghrelin, affecting hunger and satiety. When you’re low on sleep, ghrelin levels rise, making you feel hungrier, while leptin levels fall, reducing the sense of fullness. This can lead to overeating, especially of quick-energy foods that tend to be high in sugar or refined carbs.
- Low Energy and Misinterpreted Fatigue: Fatigue from sleep deprivation can easily be mistaken as hunger, leading you to reach for food to boost energy levels. This is especially true for sugar and carb-heavy foods that provide quick, albeit temporary, energy.
While getting enough sleep won’t singlehandedly “cure” an eating disorder, it plays a pivotal role in stabilizing your mind and body, which enables you to work through the deeper issues that fuel disordered eating.
Your Sleep Check: Questions to Assess Your Sleep Patterns
It’s essential to examine how you view and prioritize sleep in your life, as well as to understand the quality of the rest you’re currently getting. Here are some questions to help you gain insight:
- Do you often nod off unintentionally, such as in front of the TV or while reading?
- Do you avoid getting into bed to sleep and instead fall doze in a chair or your day clothes?
- Do you need an alarm to wake up, and do you often hit snooze?
- Are there times when you sleep for extended hours (10, 12, or even 14 hours) in a single stretch?
- Do you rely on caffeine or energy drinks to get through your day?
- Do you pride yourself on getting by with minimal sleep, thinking you need less than others?
- Do you have bouts of insomnia?
Practical Steps for Developing a Sleep Routine
So, how can you establish a healthy, consistent sleep routine that will support your recovery and overall well-being? Here are some guidelines:
- Establish a Consistent Sleep Schedule: The body loves routine, and sleep is no exception. Set a bedtime and wake-up time that you can realistically maintain, even on weekends. Aim to work up to eight hours if you aren’t there, and be patient with yourself as you build this habit.
- Create a Relaxing Pre-Sleep Routine: In the hour before bed, avoid screens and stimulating activities. Instead, try reading, taking a warm bath, or practicing relaxation techniques like deep breathing or mindfulness exercises.
- Optimize Your Sleep Environment: Create a space conducive to rest. Keep your room cool, dark, and quiet. You may even consider blackout curtains or a white noise machine if needed.
- Mind Your Caffeine Intake: Stimulants like caffeine can stay in your system for hours, interfering with sleep even if consumed early in the afternoon. If possible, try to cut off caffeine intake by late morning or early afternoon.
- Use a Sleep Journal: Track your sleep habits to gain insight into patterns and identify what works best for you. You may find unexpected triggers that disrupt your sleep or recognize patterns, such as eating late, that affect your rest.
Sleep as a Foundational Part of Recovery
Think of sleep as one of the key foundations of recovery. Nourishing your body with food is essential, and so is nourishing it with sleep. When you’re well-rested, you’ll be better equipped to face challenges without needing the immediate comfort or distraction that food can provide.
Here’s why investing in your sleep is so powerful for recovery:
- Emotional Resilience: When rested, you’re less likely to feel overwhelmed by minor setbacks or stressors. This resilience helps you make choices that align with your long-term goals, not just immediate relief.
- Mindful Eating: A rested brain is more capable of mindfulness, which is crucial in recovery. Being present during meals helps you tune into your body’s hunger and fullness cues, making it easier to break binge eating or restricting cycles.
- Better Decision-Making: Sleep sharpens your cognitive abilities, making it easier to resist urges and make choices that support your recovery. When you’re not exhausted, you’re more likely to choose activities that contribute to your well-being instead of those that might be impulsive or self-sabotaging.
As Shakespeare wrote:
"The innocent sleep,
Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care,
The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast."
Sleep offers respite and essential nourishment in a world of pressures and expectations. Before you adjust your diet or increase your exercise, consider beginning with sleep. Investing in a consistent, healthy sleep routine gives you the gift of stability, resilience, and a more straightforward path forward in your recovery.
Take some time to reflect on your relationship with sleep, examine any patterns, and consider the role it might play in your overall well-being. You may find that sleep issues have a more significant impact on your life, your eating disorder, and your weight than you realize.
References and further information
A long-term study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that even partial sleep deprivation was associated with weight gain, reinforcing the notion that chronic sleep deprivation can exacerbate or even trigger unhealthy eating behaviors. This finding is echoed by experts at UCLA, who note that sleep deprivation can interfere with hormone regulation, specifically leptin, and ghrelin, which help control appetite and feelings of fullness. A lack of sleep disrupts the balance of these hormones, leading to increased hunger and cravings for high-calorie, carbohydrate-rich foods that provide quick energy but may contribute to weight gain and unhealthy eating patterns.
Sleep can be especially important for individuals recovering from eating disorders. Poor sleep can increase stress and emotional vulnerability, making it harder to resist binge eating or restrictive behaviors that may seem to provide temporary relief from emotional distress. UCLA’s insights explain that inadequate sleep impacts the brain’s reward system, leading people to crave foods that offer a brief sense of comfort and satisfaction. When this craving is coupled with emotional fatigue and reduced self-control, it can increase the likelihood of engaging in disordered eating behaviors.
As part of a recovery-focused routine, sleep hygiene—maintaining consistent sleep and wake times, limiting screen exposure before bed, and avoiding caffeine late in the day—can greatly support healthier eating behaviors and emotional resilience. In Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison, readers are encouraged to view sleep as part of overall wellness, not just a passive activity but an essential component of recovery. By getting enough sleep, individuals may be better equipped to manage emotions, reduce cravings, and engage more fully in therapeutic work.
Several excellent resources offer deeper insights if you seek guidance in this area. More Than a Body by Lexie Kite and Lindsay Kite explores body image resilience, which sleep and other wellness practices can profoundly impact. For those navigating the medical aspects of eating disorders, Sick Enough by Jennifer L. Gaudiani offers a comprehensive look at how physiological and emotional health are interlinked and how restorative sleep is essential in sustaining recovery and health. Websites like UCLA Health provide additional tips for building healthy sleep routines, from creating a dark, cool, and quiet environment to setting a regular schedule and avoiding screens before bed.
In your journey to eating disorder recovery or weight management, consider sleep not as a luxury but as a core component of overall well-being. By prioritizing sleep, you can foster better emotional balance, mitigate stress-related eating triggers, and ultimately support your path toward lasting health and wellness.
Here is a list of references on how sleep affects weight management and eating disorder recovery:
- Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics - Long-term studies on sleep deprivation and its correlation with weight gain highlight sleep's role in maintaining a healthy weight. This journal provides a scientific foundation for understanding the connection between sleep and eating habits.
- UCLA Health - Their insights on how sleep influences hormone regulation (leptin and ghrelin) and cravings show the critical link between sleep quality and food choices, especially for those managing weight and eating disorders
- Anti-Diet by Christy Harrison examines the broader impact of wellness, including the importance of sleep in promoting healthier eating behaviors and emotional stability.
- More Than a Body by Lexie Kite and Lindsay Kite - This book emphasizes body image resilience and wellness practices, including the significance of sleep in managing stress and maintaining a balanced relationship with food.
- Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders by Jennifer L. Gaudiani - A comprehensive resource that addresses how physiological factors like sleep contribute to overall recovery from eating disorders, with practical medical advice for managing health holistically.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - CDC research includes data on sleep deprivation and its effects on health, highlighting that nearly a third of adults sleep less than the recommended amount, which has wide-ranging implications for physical and mental health.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) - Their research on sleep deprivation’s effects on mental and physical health includes the role of sleep in regulating emotional responses and maintaining a healthy weight.
For additional information, UCLA Health offers a helpful article on how sleep deprivation affects food choices and weight management:
Macbeth (2.2.46-51)
Not Only Amount, But Timing of Sleep Can Be Important for Mental Health
See: Healing Your Hungry Heart: Recovering from Your Eating Disorder, chapter 5, "Boundaries: a challenge in early recovery."
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Written by Joanna Poppink, MFT. Joanna is a psychotherapist in private practice specializing in eating disorder recovery, stress, PTSD, and adult development.
She is licensed in CA, AZ, OR and FL. Author of the Book: Healing Your Hungry Heart: Recovering from Your Eating Disorder
Appointments are virtual.
For a free telephone consultation, e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.