Getting enough sleep isn’t just about rest it’s a powerful tool that controls how your body uses food. A landmark study found that people who slept only 5.5 hours lost 55% less fat and 60% more muscle than those who slept 8.5 hours, even on identical diets. This means sleep can literally change whether your calories fuel strength or fat storage.
When sleep is cut short, hunger hormones surge, cortisol rises, and insulin resistance kicks in. Instead of feeding muscle and energy, your body shifts into fat-conserving mode. In other words, the difference between progress and setback may simply be an extra few hours of sleep.
Source: Nedeltcheva et al., Annals of Internal Medicine
