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Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the number of calories your body burns when you’re completely at rest. It’s affected by age, weight, height, sex and muscle mass.
Research indicates that sleep deprivation may lower your RMR
In one study, 15 men were kept awake for 24 hours. Afterward, their RMR was 5% lower than after a normal night’s rest, and their metabolic rate after eating was 20% lower
On the contrary, some studies have found no changes in metabolism with sleep loss. Therefore, more research is needed to determine if and how sleep loss slows metabolism
It also seems that poor sleep can cause muscle loss. Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does, so when muscle is lost, resting metabolic rates decrease.
One study put 10 overweight adults on a 14-day diet of moderate calorie restriction Participants were allowed either 8.5 or 5.5 hours to sleep.
Both groups lost weight from both fat and muscle, but the ones who were given only 5.5 hours to sleep lost less weight from fat and more from muscle
A 22-pound (10-kg) loss of muscle mass could lower your RMR by an estimated 100 calories per day
SUMMARY:
Poor sleep may decrease your resting metabolic rate (RMR), although findings are mixed. One contributing factor seems to be that poor sleep may cause muscle loss.
