We all know how important sleep is for our daily routines, but what’s it got to do with weight loss, and can it really help?

This week, host Helen Thorn and resident co-host Dr Sam are joined by Boots Online Doctor’s sleep expert Dr Mark Perera. Together, they’ll explore how sleep impacts everything in our bodies from hormone levels and muscle mass, to cravings and stress. Find out how much sleep you really need and get tips and advice on improving your sleep, like when best to exercise, recording your sleep, what makes a good bedtime routine and more – there are even some foods that could help you drift off more easily!

Dr Sam is Lead GP for Lifestyle Medicine at Boots Online Doctor, as well as a coach and mentor, author, and nutritional and yoga therapist. Dr Mark Perera is a GP and Men’s Health and Sleep Medicine Lead at Boots Online Doctor.

Free resources from Boots Online Doctor:

Weekly live webinars on weight loss from our friendly, expert team https://tinyurl.com/WL-webinars

Online 10-week weight loss programme https://onlinedoctor.boots.com/weight-loss/10-week-weight-loss-programme/

Host: Helen Thorn 

Co-host: Ruth Taylor 

Special guest: Dr Mark Perera

Boots Online Doctor Producer: Leah Sienna Williams 

Producer: Oli Seymour

Executive Producer: Izzie Clarke

Music composed by: Leah Sienna Williams

Timecodes: 

00:00 Welcome to Weight Loss 360°

00:18 Meet the experts

00:58 Intro to today’s topic

01:42 What does sleep have to do with weight loss?

02:20How sleep affects our hormones

04:48 Is rest the same as sleep?

06:08 What happens if we get less than the recommended amount of sleep?

07:44 Sleep and muscle mass

08:31 How lack of sleep affects cravings

10:04 What is the impact of stress on our bodies?

10:47 How to improve your sleep

14:02 How alcohol affects sleep

15:00 Foods that could help improve your sleep

16:52 The benefit of recording your sleep

19:00 When is the best time to exercise for good sleep?

19:19 What to do if you’ve tried everything

20:15 Top tips for success