Yes, it’s possible to lose fat while you sleep! In fact, your body can utilize fat as energy while you sleep, provided that you didn’t fill up on too many late night snacks.
Lack of sleep not only makes you inclined to eat more poor-quality, high-calorie foods, it also can prevent fat loss.
A study published in Canada in 2012 found that the participants who had the longest sleep duration—more than seven hours a night—lost the most weight, regardless of initial body composition, age, gender, and other factors. Specifically, every one-hour increase in sleep was associated with 1.5 pounds loss in fat mass.
Sleep quantity and quality can affect weight loss because when people are tired, their hormones can become imbalanced. Even a small alteration in hormones can significantly affect weight loss and muscle building efforts.
The ideal range is 8-9 hours of deep sleep every night for optimal fat loss and recovery. You will know you are getting restful sleep if you dream a lot, and you don’t wake up throughout the night often.