Your muffin top is keeping you up at night. According to a new study from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, losing weight, especially around your midsection, can improve the quality of your sleep.
Researchers asked 77 participants to fill out a form discussing their sleeping problems, including sleep apnea, fatigue, insomnia, restless sleep, excessive sleep and use of sedatives. The study subjects then followed a weight loss plan for 6 months, resulting in an average loss of 15 pounds and 15 percent reduction in belly fat per person. At the end of the study period, participants reported about a 20 percent increase in their overall sleep scores.
“Fat, and particularly belly fat, interferes with lung function,” says Kerry J. Stewart, Ed.D., a professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University and one of the study authors. “It becomes harder for the lungs to expand because fat is in the way.” When your lungs can’t expand at full capacity, breathing becomes more difficult. Difficult breathing leads to sleep problems, like sleep apnea. Inversely, the less fat around your belly, the less interference with lung functioning—and the better you’ll sleep.
While a good night’s rest is important for looking and performing your best in daily actives, it also plays a vital role in protecting your heart, Stewart says. Disturbed sleep, from sleep apnea or other disorders, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. “Sleep apnea is much more common in obese people and also likely causes weight gain, too,” he says. “There is a vicious cycle that needs to be broken.”
To get rid of belly fat for good, try this core-revitalizing workout from The Women’s Health Big Book of Abs. With this workout, you’ll activate more muscle, burn hundreds of calories, and work all of your core muscles with every exercise.
How to do it
Perform this workout three times a week. Alternate between Workout A and Workout B three days a week, resting at least a day between each session. When you see a number with a letter next to it (such as 1A, 1B), that means the exercises are performed as a circuit. For each circuit, do 1 set of each exercise in succession.
More from WH:
50 Ways to Lose Belly Fat
The 12 Best Foods for Your Abs
The Dangers of Belly Fat
Get even more workouts with The Women’s Health Big Book of Abs. Pick up your copy today!