sleep deprivation interferes with appetitesuppressing hormones increases stress hormone levels and decreases a persons glucose tolerance all of which may contribute to weight gain another way sleep loss may help pile on the pounds latenight munching go to bed and get up at the same time each day to help achieve sounder sleep although more research is needed to confirm the link between sleep and weight getting six to eight hours of sleep per night can help improve your mood overweight and obese adults are more likely to report skimping on sleep compared to people with healthy body mass indexes expending more calories than you take in is the simple science behind any successful weightloss programme the best way to do this is to eat a healthy reducedcalorie diet and boost the amount of time you spend exercising other habits may boost your weight loss efforts or hamper them for example skimping on sleep negatively alters levels of hormones involved in carbohydrate metabolism and appetite control which may contribute to weight gain and living a hectic highstress lifestyle may make it harder for you to focus on your health and may increase the likelihood that youll make poor food choices and skip your exercise routine set yourself up for success by living a balanced lifestyle in addition to balancing calorie intake and expenditure