How Much Weight Do You Lose Overnight? – Here’s The Truth!

By bulksupplementsdirect

Updated on Monday 08 August 2022

If you look in the mirror or track your weight daily, you may notice a weight change overnight. Although some may think this is a mystery, there’s actually reasoning behind this. Remember, even though you’re asleep, your body still needs to burn calories and other essential nutrients to keep blood flowing to your organs to keep you alive. But, how much weight do you lose overnight?

The most significant amount of weight you lose overnight is water at around one to three pounds (depending on your BMI). Additionally, you also burn calories through the night to allow your organs to function correctly. On average, this is around 50 calories an hour, but this again depends on your BMI.

As you can see, it’s hard to pinpoint how much weight you lose overnight. People have widely different BMIs, and that’s because of lifestyle choices and genetics. But, needless to say, we do lose some weight overnight from just sleeping.

If you want to become more knowledgeable on weight loss/gain and sleep, I suggest you read the below:

How much weight do you lose overnight on average?

As you’re now aware, losing weight during the night is generally possible, and it’s certainly not a myth. It’s estimated that you can lose around one to three pounds of water a night and up to 50 calories an hour. But this is highly dependant on your Body Mass Index (BMI).

The BMI plays a vital role in weight loss as genetics takes matters into their own hands when losing weight overnight. Typically, people with high metabolisms will lose much more water weight and calories during the night because their bodies want to. However, people with high BMIs, or individuals with obesity, don’t lose even close to what someone with a high metabolism does overnight. This is because their bodies don’t like change and won’t help them lower their weight.

However, don’t think that sleeping more is just going to allow you to lose weight. Although you do lose a lot of water weight when sleeping, you quickly put it back inside your body to rehydrate yourself.

For instance, although it’s estimated you lose around one to three pounds of water overnight, just a single cup of water (237ml) weighs approximately 1/2 a pound when consumed. Considering the average American consumes 3.7 liters (men) or 2.7 liters (women) a day, that weight is put right back on.

But, with reoccurring good sleep and some well-rounded exercise, you can start to see the benefits of losing weight while sleeping (we discuss this later in the post).

Now you know the answer to “how much weight do you lose overnight?”, let’s discuss the reasons why this strange weight loss occurs while you’re not doing anything.

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Why weight loss occurs overnight?

From reading the above information, you should have become knowledgeable on the fact that the most significant reason for weight loss overnight is water weight. But, why does this happen? Overnight there are two primary reasons why you lose water gradually: these are breathing and sweating.

When breathing, tiny particles of water also follow suit each time you exhale, which results in you losing water weight. Whereas when you sweat, you lose water through your skin as your body tries to cool your temperature.

Also contributing to your overnight weight loss is something called resting metabolism. This refers to the calories burned from operating vital body organs such as your kidneys, heart, brain, and everything else to ensure you stay alive. However, the weight loss from this is much less prominent, but it’s still nice to know you’re losing weight while sleeping.

However, there are ways in which you can reek the benefits of weight loss while you’re sleeping even more. Want to know more about this? Read below:

How quality of sleep effect your weight?

Many studies have been conducted about the quality of sleep and your overall weight. However, one that we particularly took a liking to was conducted by JAMA Internal Medicine. During the study, they collected sleeping data from more than 120,000 people within two years. This sleeping data was recorded via Fitbit’s sleeping technology.

After years of collecting data JAMA finally concluded that sleeping duration (hours slept on average each night) and an individual’s Body Mass Index (BMI) directly correlate. This means that people that sleep for much fewer hours each night are more subjected to becoming overweight.

As you can see, sleep and your weight has a connection between the two. But what are the recommended sleeping hours? Well, according to Moyo Clinic, you need the following, depending on your age:

Age group	Recommended hours of sleep
4 – 12 months	12 – 16 hours, including naps
1 – 2 years	11 – 14 hours, including naps
3 – 5 years	10 – 14 hours, including naps
6 – 12 years	9 – 12 hours
13 – 18 years	8 – 10 hours
Adults (18+ years)	7 or more hours

Age has such an impact on the hours of sleep you need because you’re growing. Because of this, the body needs a longer time to recover, and the primary source of recovery is sleep.

If you’re someone that struggles with sleeping or wants to increase weight loss overnight, you need to read this next section:

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How to improve your bedtime routine to support weight loss

Would you believe it, there are actually tried and tested methods that you can implement into your daily lives to help increase weight loss overnight. Don’t get us wrong, this shouldn’t solely be the only form of weight loss activity you should do, but it can certainly provide that additional support. Here’s how you can improve your bedtime routine to maximize overnight weight loss:

#1 - Keep a good schedule

Something that people struggle with is keeping a good sleeping schedule. I’m sure you can relate; during the workweek, you will sleep roughly at the same time each night. However, as soon as the weekend hits, it’s completely forgotten about.

But if you undergo an inadequate sleeping schedule, you’re more likely to experience impaired sleeping quality regardless of the total hours spent asleep. Because of this, sticking with a good sleeping schedule is undoubtedly one of the prominent ways of supporting weight loss while you sleep.

#2 - Consider relaxation techniques

If you’re someone that struggles to get to sleep and it’s affecting your total hours slept, you need to try some relaxation techniques before you head to bed. A few examples of these techniques can be found below:

Drink camomile tea

Play soothing music

Learn and practice deep-breathing exercises

Consider aromatherapy

Meditate

Some of the above techniques may be more effective than one another, depending on the individual. However, all are worth a try if you’re someone that struggles to fall asleep.

#3 - Decrease the temperature of the room

Something else which can help support weight loss during sleep is by decreasing the temperature of the room. For those who don’t know, when you sleep, your body naturally decreases in temperature and then warms again when you wake up. However, if your room is too hot or humid, your body may encounter difficulties decreasing the body’s temperature.

According to this study, the most optimal room temperature for falling asleep is between 66 and 70-degrees Fahrenheit. Although these are considered the best, remember that all bodies are different, and finding a suitable temperature for you is probably more effective.

After reading, you should know the answer to “how much weight do you lose overnight?” and the reasoning behind it. So, now you understand you can increase weight loss through sleeping, will you develop a better sleeping schedule?