---
title: Lose Sleep, Gain Weight
description: sleep deprivation relates to weight gain
canonical_url: https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/self-help/lose-sleep-gain-weight
language: en-GB
date: 2012-08-14T14:28:02Z
notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/self-help/lose-sleep-gain-weight. Schema.org structured data included at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers.
markdown-tokens: 1037
---

> **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://eatingdisorderrecovery.net/self-help/lose-sleep-gain-weight. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content.
> **Structured data** as JSON-LD may be found at the end between AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN and AI:SCHEMA:END markers.
> **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above.


More evidence is coming in showing a strong connection between sleep deprivation and weight gain. [Reuters Health](http://sleepissues.blogspot.com/2010/04/sleep-restriction-could-be-one-of.html) is running an article called,

["Sleep restriction could be one of the environmental factors that contribute to the obesity epidemic."](http://sleepissues.blogspot.com/2010/04/sleep-restriction-could-be-one-of.html)

Getting this information to people with eating disorders is essential. If you have an eating disorder you do what you can do relieve yourself of tension, anxiety and stress through your eating or starving or bingeing or purging methods. You know this. But you also use other methods to rescue yourself from unbearable feelings. One of these methods is sleep deprivation.

Do you go put off going to bed? Do you lull yourself to sleep on the couch watching TV to avoid going to sleep in your bedroom?

Do you give yourself tasks that require you to stay up late and run your life on five hours of sleep or less? Do you party hard or talk till the wee hours

and so give yourself little time to get nourishing sleep?

These are not unusual patterns for a person with an eating disorder. Drifting off to sleep in bed, in the quiet, in the dark is a vulnerable time. If you have an eating disorder, the last thing you want is to feel vulnerable.

The weight gain comes from your feeling weak and tired from sleep deprivation. You try to refresh yourself with new energy. But instead of going to sleep to restore your energy levels you reach for food, usually high calorie and dense carbohydrates. It's a case of looking for energy in all the wrong places.

If you want to lose weight, or at least, stop gaining weight, calculate the hours in a 24 hour period and set a plan where you give yourself eight hours of sleep every night. You will be pleasantly surprised at the effect this will have on your mind, your emotions and your weight.

<!-- AI:SCHEMA: Schema.org description of canonical page in JSON-LD format -->
<!-- AI:SCHEMA:BEGIN format=jsonld scope=page -->

```json
{
    "@context": "http:\/\/schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Article",
            "author": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/eatingdisorderrecovery.net\/#joanna_poppink_da79445421"
            },
            "dateModified": "2012-08-14T14:28:02Z",
            "datePublished": "2010-04-14T17:53:54Z",
            "description": "sleep deprivation relates to weight gain",
            "headline": "Lose Sleep, Gain Weight",
            "image": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/eatingdisorderrecovery.net\/#defaultLogo"
            },
            "inLanguage": "en-GB",
            "mainEntityOfPage": {
                "@type": "WebPage",
                "url": "https:\/\/eatingdisorderrecovery.net\/self-help\/lose-sleep-gain-weight"
            },
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/eatingdisorderrecovery.net\/#defaultPublisher"
            },
            "url": "https:\/\/eatingdisorderrecovery.net\/self-help\/lose-sleep-gain-weight"
        },
        {
            "@type": "Person",
            "name": "Joanna Poppink",
            "@id": "https:\/\/eatingdisorderrecovery.net\/#joanna_poppink_da79445421"
        },
        {
            "@id": "https:\/\/eatingdisorderrecovery.net\/#defaultLogo",
            "@type": "ImageObject",
            "url": "",
            "width": "",
            "height": ""
        },
        {
            "@id": "https:\/\/eatingdisorderrecovery.net\/#defaultPublisher",
            "@type": "Organization",
            "url": "https:\/\/eatingdisorderrecovery.net\/",
            "logo": {
                "@id": "https:\/\/eatingdisorderrecovery.net\/#defaultLogo"
            },
            "name": "Eating Disorder Recovery and Woman's Power"
        }
    ]
}
```

<!-- AI:SCHEMA:END -->