7 Effective Tips to Burn Fat While you Sleep

When it comes to losing weight, fad and miracle diets are not the most effective option. In reality, the balance between diet and exercise is the best way to go, but a good nights rest is also very important.
7 Effective Tips to Burn Fat While you Sleep

Last update: 16 June, 2019

In the midst of their frustration to burn fat, most people tend to focus on extreme workout routines or strict diets. They don’t realize that the most important thing is to maintain a balance in their daily activities and the food they eat. But there are some things we can do to optimize the way our bodies burn fat while we sleep.

A balanced diet includes respecting a meal schedule and eliminating completely from the menu everything related to junk food or overly refined and processed products. It’s also important to not go overboard with carbs and flours, especially before bedtime.

How to burn fat while you sleep

1. Have a good night’s sleep

This is one of the best methods to burn fat. A good night’s sleep allows your body to replenish its energy. But the most important factor to prevent weight gain is that your body uses that same energy correctly.

2. Avoid light pollution

Sleeping well is not just about closing your eyes for seven or eight hours per day. The quality of your sleep is just as important. Try to be as comfortable as possible and avoid any disruptive element. A frequent distraction is having your phone nearby, with a lot of active notifications, or when the television is still on after you’ve gone to bed.

Light can stop your body from producing melatonin, a hormone that’s responsible for metabolizing the fats that are present in the brown fatty tissues of your body. Hence, when you wake up, your body will not only have less energy but it’ll also lack the necessary tools to eliminate fatty acids from your body.

A person turning off their phone before bed to burn fat while they sleep

3. Avoid overeating at dinner to burn fat while you sleep

You should never go to sleep on an empty stomach. Ideally, you should have a light dinner that allows your body to go into rest mode so that your digestive system can stop working. In this sense, you should eat your last meal of the day about three hours before going to bed.

A good dinner should contain about 25 percent of your total daily calories. It may even be a good idea to drink smoothies that contain at least one ounce of protein to prevent your metabolism from stopping and to make sure that it keeps burning calories until the next morning.

4. Foods that are high in tryptophan: a good idea for dinner

Tryptophan is an amino acid that’s essential in human nutrition to control the anxiety that comes with insomnia. However, our bodies can’t produce this substance naturally, which is why it’s important to get it from the foods we eat.

This substance is present in most foods of animal origin. In order to avoid overloading our digestive system at night, the list of options starts with some dairy products such as yogurt and fresh cheese. You can also find tryptophan in some cereals such as corn, oats, and rice.

A bad temper, fatigue and sleeping difficulty are all signs that our tryptophan levels may be very low. We also need to consume enough calories in order to absorb tryptophan correctly.

Some fruits, such as bananas, are another great option. Besides containing high amounts of tryptophan, bananas also provide an important number of calories.

A bowl of rice with vegetables is a great option to get tryptophan

5. Drink natural infusions

One of the best tricks to sleep well and enjoy a restful sleep that helps us to burn fat is drinking an infusion moments before going to bed. Chamomile and valerian are the most popular options.

You can also try spearmint, lavender, mint, lime and hibiscus flowers. They help to reduce anxiety and calm your appetite, which in turn causes your body to completely relax.

A cup of valerian infusion to burn fat while you sleep

6. Sleep in a cool environment to burn fat

A hot room is not a great place to sleep soundly. It’s also much easier to fall asleep in cool environments. And we can’t forget that it promotes a higher calorie consumption at night.

The differences are very clear. Sleeping in spaces below 70°F allows for a calorie consumption that’s up to 7 percent higher than when sleeping in rooms over 75°F.

Woman sleeping soundly in a cool room

7. A balanced diet and physical activity: the insuperable combo

There’s no way to burn fat and enjoy a full quality of life without the combination of those two elements. A workout session helps to strengthen your muscles and optimize your respiratory and cardiac systems while reducing your stress levels at the same time. This translates into a better quality of sleep and rest.

Woman getting ready to go running

Now you know that it’s not only possible to burn fat while you sleep, it’s also pretty easy once you make simple habit changes. Why not give these valuable tips a try?


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This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.