Losing weight and burning fat is a process that doesn’t only occur while you’re working out at the gym; it also happens while you’re sleeping.
Your body burns fat naturally while you’re sleeping, by performing metabolic functions more actively than it does during the day when you’re awake. However, there are many ways one can promote a more effective, night time fat-burning opportunity.
It seems that the positions in which you sleep can help the body focus on losing the fat in the stomach area. This area is the hardest to get in shape, so such help from your own body is more than useful.
So, in the following paragraphs, we’ll take a look at the best sleeping positions you can utilize to start losing that belly fat. Let’s get started!
Best Sleeping Positions To Get Rid Of Belly Fat
Sleeping On The Stomach – Prone Position
Prone position, or sleeping on the stomach means lying horizontally on the stomach, with the head on the pillow or the bed. The prone sleeping position is generally considered to be one of the worst, due to its effects on the pressure points in the body.
However, this sleeping position has a lot of benefits as well. For example, it can be useful in the terms of lower back pain, or even if you’re dealing with sleep-related obstructive breathing.
But, did you know that sleeping on the stomach can help you fight the belly fat? Experts believe that by sleeping on the stomach, the weight of your body puts additional pressure on the belly area, blocking the abdomen and preventing excess fat accumulation. However, to prevent the prone sleeping position from affecting your health negatively, we recommend the following;
- Try not to sleep on the stomach for the whole night. It is enough to spend 2 to 4 hours in the prone position to achieve the slimming effects.
- Try to mix between side sleeping position and prone position. This way you will avoid chest tightness, breathing obstruction, and obstruction of proper blood flow throughout the body.
- While sleeping on the stomach, try to use a properly supportive pillow for the head and neck area. This way you’ll prevent neck strain and neck pain in the morning.
- If you’re not used to sleeping on the stomach, we recommend you try lying on the stomach every night for at least a few minutes, until you feel comfortable in the position.
Sleeping On The Back – Supine Position
Sleeping on the back, or supine sleeping position is one of the healthiest ways to sleep. This implies lying horizontally on the back, with the legs straight or slightly elevated.
The supine sleeping position is excellent for people who experience back pain issues, knee and leg pain, and who generally want to have a proper spinal alignment during sleep.
But, how is the supine sleeping position good for belly fat loss? Well, while lying on the back, the body has a tougher time transforming the food and the drinks you consume into fat; instead, it converts everything you consume into energy or promotes it to leave the body.
Here’s what we recommend for an improved and even more effective supine position for belly fat loss;
- When lying on the back, make sure to place a pillow under your knees, so they’re a little bent. This will remove the pressure from the lower back, as well as the pressure from the stomach.
- If you have a hard time lying on the back, try spending a few minutes on the back before you go to sleep. This way you’ll become more comfortable with this position, and eventually start sleeping on the back.
- If you experience respiratory issues while in a supine position, we recommend proper head and torso elevation. This won’t affect the belly loss process but will ensure you sleep comfortably and breathe without obstructions while sleeping.
Other Ways To Enhance The Effectiveness Of Belly Fat Loss
Drinking Green Tea During The Day
Green tea is not a sleep-friendly beverage because it contains high levels of caffeine and other wake-inducing compounds. However, green tea can be of great assistance when it comes to calorie and fat burning.
Its weight loss properties are effective even hours after consumption. That is why we recommend daily green tea intake, which will promote faster belly fat loss during the night.
More to know: Green Tea Before Bedtime: Good or Bad Idea?
Cooling Down The Room Temperature
Apart from the sleeping position, other things could also help belly fat loss. One such this is ensuring that the room you sleep in has a cooler temperature at night. Cooler temperatures promote the loss of fat because it burns trying to keep you acclimatized to the temperature in the room.
This can help you lose a lot of stomach fat in the long run, and even improve the quality of your sleep. Cooler temperature makes it easier for you to enter deep sleep, during which the body performs all the metabolic functions, which help you burn fat and calories in your sleep.
More to know:
- What Is the Perfect Temperature for Sleep?
- 7 Best Bed Cooling Systems: Say Goodbye to Sweating (If money is NOT your concern )
Sleeping In A Completely Dark Room
When sleeping in a completely dark room, you’re allowing your body to produce hormones that are essential for sleep, metabolic function, and, of course, weight loss.
Sleeping regulates the hunger hormones and promotes calorie burning. It also allows the body to transform food into energy rather than fat, due to the production of melatonin and other sleep-related hormones.
During sleep, the ‘bad’ type of fat, or brown fat is transformed into white fat, which is essential for our bodies and doesn’t accumulate around the stomach and other sensitive areas.
More to know: Is It Good to Sleep With an Eye Mask?
Getting Enough Sleep
Getting enough sleep every night is essential for weight and belly fat loss. When we’re sleep-deprived, our body starts increasing the production of stress hormones, or cortisol.
These hormones increase our appetite and stress levels, which in turn affect hunger hormones, like ghrelin and leptin. These hormones are essential for appetite and weight control.
So, when you get proper sleep, these hormones stay low, and instead of making you hungry, they contribute to weight loss, throughout the day and night.
Check this tool: Sleep Calculator: Know Best Time to Sleep And Wake Up
Turning To Night Time Weight Loss Supplements
To lose belly fat, you cannot simply rely on the proper sleeping position, or cooling down the bedroom. You still need to adhere to a proper diet and an exercise regime.
But, there is a way for you to get to the results quicker and easier. The night time weight loss supplements are all the rage in the diet industry.
These supplements are taken before bedtime, and they promote fat and weight loss as you sleep. They work together with your body and metabolism and don’t just promote calorie and fat burning, but also deep, restful sleep.
More to know: Best Night Time Weight Loss Pills: How To Burn More Calories While Sleeping
Other Tips For Belly Fat Loss During Sleep
- Make sure to change sleeping positions every few hours, or even more frequently if you’re not comfortable. If you want to lose the belly fat, it is enough to spend 2 to 4 hours lying on the back or the stomach.
- Make sure to improve your nutrition and start exercising. This way you will make your body work faster when it comes to burning calories and burning fat.
- Try to skip meals before bedtime, and avoid drinking alcohol or smoking before going to be. All of these things will hinder the body’s natural ability to burn fat while you’re sleeping.
- Make sure to avoid staring at your phone, computer, or TV before bedtime. The blue light that these gadgets emit hinders the production of melatonin, and further affects the production of hunger hormones.
- Try to avoid napping throughout the day. This will slow your metabolism at an important moment; in the afternoon the metabolism naturally slows down as it gets ready for bedtime. However, by napping you’re slowing it down even more, to the point where it becomes lazy and doesn’t promote proper digestion and weight loss.
- Make sure to consult your doctor about night time weight loss supplements, and see how they fit your health and lifestyle. Bear in mind that these supplements are not FDA approved and they do carry certain disadvantages, like gastrointestinal issues, and prolonged sleepiness in the morning.
Final Thoughts
Losing belly weight is probably one of the hardest things you have to do during the weight loss journey.
That is why it is essential to get your body to work for you, not against you. If a change in the way you sleep can help you lose weight, then make sure to keep a track of what it is that is helping you; which sleeping position makes your belly slimmer and kind of nutrition is further promoting weight loss.
And, of course, don’t forget to consult with your doctor about every change you decide to make that might affect your health and weight loss in the long run.
