Doing This One Simple Thing Every Day Could Help You Lose Five Pounds

If none of your current weight loss hacks are working and you're starting to panic because bikini season is actually around the corner, here's something to consider.

Go to sleep one hour earlier.

You've probably heard getting enough sleep leads to decreased stress and makes you feel less hungry throughout the day, both of which are important for weight loss.

But, this is a bit different. Jawbone looked at data from 850,000 of its UP fitness trackers from around the world and found people who went to bed at the same time every night and before 11 pm ate more nutritious food and consumed less calories.

Those with night owlish tendencies (looking at you, person who is still binge-watching "Fuller House" at 3 am) tended to consume more caffeine, alcohol, processed meats, processed carbs and saturated fats.

Jawbone data scientist Kirstin Aschbacher told Huffington Post,

If you go to bed an hour earlier, and do so consistently for a year, in theory, this could add up to [a loss of] 4-5 pounds with no changes in activity.

That seems like a pretty effortless change if you ask me.

Another upside to going to sleep earlier? You'll wake up earlier, and if you choose to use your early wake-up time to exercise, you're more likely to stick with it.

Cedric X. Bryant, chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, told WebMD,

By doing the bulk of exercise first thing in the morning, you get your exercise in before other distractions can intrude. We can all relate to that -- because once the day gets going, it's hard to get off the treadmill called life.

You know what they say: The early bird gets the worm. Sorry, I couldn't help it.

Citations: Why Early Risers Tend To Be Healthier (Huffington Post), Sleep Deprivation Tied to Shifts in Hunger Hormones (Scientific American), Lose Weight With Morning Exercise (WebMD)