Take This Class

OK, this sounds crazy right?! Well a Glamour magazine editor had to give it a try after a doctor swore he could make women lose weight just by changing their sleep habits.

Sleep and medical experts Michael Breus, Ph.D., and Steven Lamm, M.D., created a plan for seven Glamour readers of varying weights. The women’s one simple goal: Get at least seven and a half hours of sleep a night. That’s it. In fact, we asked the women not to make any significant diet or exercise changes — we wanted to see if sleep and sleep alone would make a difference. Did it ever! Week by week, we were amazed by the results the women reported. At the end of 10 weeks, Réal Hamilton-Romeo, 30, dropped seven pounds; Kate Foley, 25, lost six; Lisa Braverman, 34, took off nine pounds; Brelyn Johnson, 28, lost 10 pounds; Paige Barr, 35, shed 12; and — are you ready for this? — Ehmonie Hainey, 33, lost 15.

“When women are deprived of sleep, they have an increase in ghrelin — what we call the ‘go’ hormone — because it makes you want to go eat more,” says Breus, clinical director of the sleep division at Southwest Spine & Sport in Scottsdale, Ariz., and author of “Beauty Sleep.” “They also have a drop in leptin, the ‘stop’ hormone that tells you to stop when you’re full.” Not only do you want more food when you’re sleep-deprived, you also want junkier food: Your body craves simple carbohydrates (chocolate, pastries, candy) that it can break down fast for quick energy, explains Breus. “I used to eat a ton of sugar every afternoon,” Glamour volunteer Johnson says. “But now I can have just a small piece and feel satisfied.”

Oh, and by the way, if you think sleeping twelve hours is going to make you lose more pounds, it won’t. Follow these four ways to help you snooze and lose, continue here.