In eight hours of sleep, most people burn around 400 calories, depending on factors like weight, age, gender, and BMR. The average person may expect to burn at least 50 calories per hour while sleeping, as their body works to maintain essential functions like breathing and circulation.
The exact number of calories you burn while sleeping depends on your age and weight. Generally speaking, sleepers burn between 40 – 80 calories an hour. So in an 8-hour window, you can expect to burn between 320 – 640 calories per night.
During REM sleep, our glucose metabolism increases, accelerating the rate of calorie-burn. The longer you sleep, the more calories you burn — but oversleeping has the reverse effect, and slows down metabolism.
While people may not burn a lot of fat from sleep alone, sleep is important for weight loss. For example, a 2018 study found that sleep disruption can slow fat loss and make it more difficult for a person to lose weight, especially when they are following a restricted-calorie diet.
Can someone burn fat while sleeping? The body burns calories during sleep to continue performing certain functions but does not burn a significant amount of fat. A person may lose weight during sleep. However, water loss accounts for the majority of this loss, according to older research.
Getting enough sleep and getting this sleep at the right times for your body clock can help you lose belly fat, however. So, if sleeping on your back helps you do this, it may be the best position for you. If not, any position that helps you get enough sleep can help reduce belly fat.
A poor night's sleep can leave you feeling foggy and drowsy throughout the day. Sleep deprivation has also been associated with higher risks of weight gain and obesity in recent years.
Over the course of a day, your body's natural calorie burn without any activity can range from 1,300 to more than 2,000, depending on your age and sex.
A 45-minute walk, particularly at a brisk pace, can burn approximately 150–200 calories, making it an excellent option for steady-state cardio. Unlike spot jogging, walking is easier on the joints, which makes it suitable for people of all age groups, including seniors or those recovering from injuries.
If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. And if you eat fewer calories and burn more calories through physical activity, you lose weight. In the past, research found about 3,500 calories of energy equaled about 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of fat.
It's true: just sitting on the couch staring into space requires that you burn some calories. That's the BMR and it accounts for about 2/3 of the total calories burned each day. As examples, you burn 40-55 calories/hour while sleeping and a bit more while sitting up watching TV or reading.
A room temperature of 66 degrees Farenheit could help speed metabolism. Photo by Getty. The Healthy recently interviewed Bridgette Agee, RN, Bariatric Program director at the Marina Weight Loss Center at Cedars-Sinai Marina del Rey Hospital, about how sleeping in a room with a cool temperature could boost metabolism.
Most people burn 30-40 calories per 1,000 steps they walk, meaning they'll burn 300 to 400 calories by walking 10,000 steps, Hirai says. However, this is just an estimate. Each step you take burns calories, but the exact amount is highly individualized. "Calorie burn rate can be quite variable," he says.
Sleep duration was negatively associated with visceral fat mass, reaching a plateau effect at ≥ 8 h of sleep per day. Chronic sleep restriction constitutes a contributor of increased visceral fat mass adiposity.
Weight gain and short-term fluctuations may happen for a variety of reasons, such as aging or making lifestyle and dietary changes. However, fast weight gain can be a sign of an underlying health condition, such as a problem with the thyroid, kidneys, or heart.
The Science of Fat Loss
Think of it like a balloon losing air—it deflates, but doesn't disappear immediately. Over time, your body adjusts, but the jiggly feeling can be a temporary step along the way.
These beverages include honey-infused lemon water, jeera water, buttermilk or chaas, cinnamon tea, and green tea. When paired with a balanced diet and regular exercise, they can accelerate weight loss effectively.
Losing 10 pounds in 3 days is an unrealistic goal for most people and could entail unsafe dieting behaviors. Rapid weight loss like this may also make it more likely that someone will put weight back on, rather than losing the weight permanently.