Whether you’re trying to lose five pounds or 50, losing weight is hard work. If it’s one of your health goals, you might have completely changed the way you eat, ridding the pantry of any ultra-processed foods and vowing not to eat past 8 p.m. Maybe you’ve started going for a walk every evening after dinner and you’ve committed to going to a new workout class at your gym.
These are all steps that can help support weight loss, but there’s one particular habit that numerous scientific studies show makes a huge difference—and it has nothing to do with exercise or the food in your kitchen.
It’s a nighttime ritual that supports weight loss literally while you’re sleeping. And guess what? Making it a habit will help you shed pounds faster and keep them off.
The Simple Bedtime Ritual That Can Help You Lose Weight
According to scientific research, simply going to bed earlier is associated with greater weight loss than staying up late. An article in the Canadian Medical Association Journalsays that getting adequate sleep can help treat obesity. The inverse is also true; the article says that sleep deprivation is linked to greater weight gain.
This is something that a 2022 scientific study published in Nutrients found too. Researchers found that disturbed sleep patterns (including getting less than six hours of sleep at night) were linked to weight gain.
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4 Reasons Why It Works
How can getting more than six hours of sleep a night lead to weight loss? According to experts we talked to, there are four key reasons for this.
1. Going to bed early leads to less snacking
Perhaps the most obvious reason why going to bed early can support healthy weight loss is that it means there’s less time to eat and drink in the evening, which helps maintain a calorie deficit.
One scientific study showed that nighttime eaters gained more weight than those who stopped eating earlier in the evening. The nighttime eaters ate approximately 15% of their daily calories after hours, an average of 690 calories—that’s pretty significant if you are trying to maintain a calorie deficit!
Sarah Schlichter, RD, a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant at Bucket List Tummy, says that having a set bedtime routine and schedule can help prevent unnecessary snacking in the evening and also make going to bed earlier more likely. “For instance, having a ‘cut off time’ after dinner where you can focus on family time, a walk outside, cleaning up the kitchen and prepping for the next day can be helpful,” she says.
Certainly, you don’t want to lie in bed hungry, so if you tend to eat dinner on the earlier side, Schlichter says that having a bedtime snack that isn’t too close to sleep time can help prevent lying in bed hungry.
2. It supports circadian rhythm and hormone balance
“We know that there is a link between getting adequate sleep and weight loss. Part of it is that inadequate sleep disrupts our circadian rhythm and hormones,” explains Schlichter. She says that not getting enough sleep causes the body’s hunger hormones (specifically one called ghrelin) to increase.
“This leads to feeling hungrier and leading people to gravitate towards foods that are usually higher in simple carbohydrates and fat. This is because our brain is telling us we need quick energy, and many ‘quick energy’ foods are also high in sugars and fats,” Schlichter explains.
Related: 13 Reasons Why You Aren’t Losing Weight—Plus, Expert-Backed Tips On What To Do About It
3. It supports healthy metabolism
Ashley Koff, RD, a registered dietitian and the founder of The Better Nutrition Program, explains that getting adequate sleep is key for maintaining a healthy metabolism. She says that late-night eating causes the digestive system to stay up working to digest the food, when it should be resting.
Koff explains that when the digestive system is up too late digesting food, this leads to feeling fatigued the next day and causes the body to crave carbohydrates or stimulants. This, she says, can lead to overconsumption, elevated blood sugar and other factors that negatively impact metabolism. “Your resting metabolism will likely slow as the body tries to reserve energy. And your weight-health hormones are thrown off. This also drives more hunger and less satiety,” she adds.
4. You’ll make healthier decisions the next day
Scientific research shows that sleep deprivation leads to an increase in calorie intake the next day, with an average increase of between 200 and 500 calories. Koff explains that people often make poor nutritional decisions when they’re sleep-deprived because the body sends a signal to the brain that it needs more energy to run better, which leads to craving high-calorie foods.
With this in mind, if you go to bed early and get enough sleep, you’ll be more likely to make healthier food decisions the next day.
As you can see, it really is possible to lose weight in your sleep. When you get adequate sleep, you’ll be less likely to consume mindless calories late at night as well as the next day. You’ll also be giving your digestive system a chance to rest and support your natural circadian rhythm, which in turn helps with hormone balance and maintaining a healthy metabolism. Don’t underestimate the power of this simple nighttime ritual!
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This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 7, 2025, where it first appeared in the Health & Wellness section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.