Sleeping Beauty Diet: The Bizarre Diet Fad People Are Embracing to Lose Weight

Don't you just cherish those extra hours of sleep before waking up to a day full of chores? I am sure most of us do, but who would have thought that sleeping for those extra hours may actually help you lose weight? Yes, as bizarre as it sounds, it is true. The 'Sleeping Beauty Diet' is a thing and some people are intentionally sleeping for more than the recommended hours to avoid eating as much as they can and in the process lose weight. Sounds like an easy way to get slim, but this absurd fad diet can have some serious consequences for your health, especially because it involves the consumption of sedatives to keep you asleep for at least 14 to 15 hours a day.
 _{The 'Sleeping Beauty Diet' is a thing and some people are intentionally following the diet}Out of the many crazy fad diets followed across the world, sleeping beauty diet is perhaps the most dangerous and detrimental to your health. The basic idea behind the sleeping beauty diet is that if you sleep more, you will not be awake to eat anything. If you are not eating anything, you are restricting your calories to a great extent and therefore, end up losing weight. This idea of a sleep diet is believed to have originated from pro-anorexia forums, where women share their regimes of extreme sleeping and fasting.

The diet has women forcing themselves to sleep for more than 10 hours without eating and drinking, which apparently leads to tremendous weight loss. This way you won't be adding any calories to the day. However, health experts do not encourage this diet as this includes oversleeping and regular consumption of sleeping pills or sedatives which can lead to various health hazards in the longer run.

Just as inadequate sleep, oversleeping can also have a negative impact on your health. It may lead to several other health problems such as the following:

1. Memory loss

A study published in the journal American Geriatrics Society suggests that sleeping for more than 9-10 hours a day can affect your memory and thinking skills.

2. Increases the risk of strokeA Cambridge study indicates that sleeping for more than 8 hours (or the recommended amount) in a day could put you at a greater risk of stroke. Their findings showed that those who slept longer were at a 46 percent greater risk of stroke.

3. It can put you in depression

As per a study conducted by the Center for Disease Control in the United States, over sleepers were more likely to report frequent mental distress due to poor mental health. Over sleeping can also lead to waking up feeling low, sad, grumpy and depressive.
 

4. Increases the risk of diabetes

Many studies have linked oversleeping with diabetes. Longer hours of inactivity can indicate increased levels of glucose in the body, which may cause frequent blood sugar fluctuations and put you at a higher risk of developing diabetes.

According to the British Dietitian Association, the sleeping beauty diet is an extremely dangerous diet and in serious cases it can even be fatal. The National Sleep Foundation recommends not more than 8-9 hours of sleep every night for adults. So, if you are thinking of following a crazy fad diet any time soon, think again and instead stick to the basics of a good workout regime and balanced diet to lose weight in a healthy way.