Sleep and Weight Loss
Welcome once again to this Health and Fitness blog. Here is another fascinating snippet of health related news for you to read all about:
Sleep matters! Not getting enough sleep can work against your efforts to lose weight. Not only can sleep deprivation sabotage your weight loss efforts but it may also actually cause you to gain weight. Here?s what you can do to avoid problems.
First of all appreciate the significance of sleep. It matters for weight management and your overall health. Sometimes going without enough sleep is an unfortunate necessity. But never think of sleep as being of low priority just so you can pursue an overly busy lifestyle. Sleep is not optional.
Why exactly we need sleep is not fully understand. However, the many negative consequences of not getting enough sleep are evident. A lack of sleep affects the way we think, behave, form memories, and perform at work and school. There are also longer-term consequences that may not be so evident. This is the potential to gain weight and be at increased risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
For whatever reason, the timing and the quality of sleep can cause normal and necessary chemical reactions within the body to become misaligned. This misalignment can cause problems with metabolism and the cardiovascular system that in turn leads to increased risk for weight gain and disease.
One of the chemical processes that is negatively impacted by insufficient sleep is the proper processing of glucose and the regulation of insulin, a hormone. Other changes include a decrease in the levels of the hormone leptin and an increase in the hormone ghrelin. Leptin helps to control appetite and ghrelin stimulates appetite. Most people are likely unaware that the tiredness they feel is unconsciously causing them to eat more than otherwise.
Just how much sleep is needed is a bit less clear. There are those who insist adults need at least 7-8 hours. Other health professionals believe that you are the best person to judge what might be adequate sleep for you. I believe most people know when they are well rested and when they are not. Some of the symptoms you may experience when not getting enough sleep include feeling fatigue, having low energy, falling asleep all too easily, having memory problems, and feeling irritable.
If for some reason you?re still not sure about the quality of your sleep, you might consider using a sleep monitor. I reviewed a product a while ago that I own and have used called BodyMedia Fit. ?I learned quite a bit about my sleep patterns with this device.
Feeling rested and having a better balance of hormones are important reasons to strive for getting enough deep and restful sleep. It?s hard enough to achieve weight loss by making diet and life style changes! You want to encourage your body to work with your weight loss efforts and not against you.
I?ll list a number of things you can do to improve your chances for getting more restful sleep.
1. Keep a regular sleep and wake cycle.
Most people sleep better when bedtimes and waking are generally consistent.
2. Avoid caffeine and/or cigarettes in the late afternoon and evening.
Both caffeine and nicotine are stimulants. The effects of caffeine can linger in your body for 12 hours or more.
3. Don?t drink alcohol to help you sleep.
Alcohol is a depressant and it may help you go to sleep. BUT it also depresses your metabolism and it seems to disrupt deep sleep called REM. This deep sleep is very important for the health of your body and brain.
4. Going to bed on a full stomach is not good.
Going to bed with a full stomach may not be wise but neither is going to bed hungry. Hunger pangs during the night might wake you up. Your best bet is to eat enough earlier in the evening to hold you through the night. If you are still hungry just before bedtime you might find it helpful to eat a small bowl of oatmeal or other nutritious low calorie cereal with a bit of low fat milk or have some low fat plain yogurt with a little chopped fresh fruit.
You may have heard that tryptophan is a substance that promotes sleep. Tryptophan can be found in turkey, chicken, and beef. However, experts suggest you need at least one gram and maybe as much as 15 grams to be effective. You?d have to eat a LOT of meat to obtain that much and that would not be a good idea on a low calorie diet!
Another substance you may be familiar with that has been touted as a sleep enhancer is melatonin. Melatonin is a natural hormone found in mammals. It helps to induce sleep. Body levels of melatonin are high at night and low during the day. The ability to form melatonin at night decreases with age and could explain why it may be harder for the elderly to get deep restful sleep.
Increasing blood levels of melatonin by even a little can improve sleep according to Russell J. Reiter, PhD, a melatonin researcher with the University of Texas Health Sciences Center. Melatonin can be found in a variety of foods but most food sources do not contain enough melatonin to have an effect.
5. Relax before going to bed.
You might take a warm bath or listen to calming music. You might also try some form of soothing relaxation or breathing exercises. What you want to avoid is doing any kind of paperwork, chores, or any other kind of stimulating activity for at least 2 hours before bedtime according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH April, 2007)
6. Avoid all sources of stimulating light.
It seems that artificial light from any source tends to detract from your body?s ability to prepare for sleep. After all, we are designed to wake with bright light and to go to sleep when it gets dark. Lights on computer screens, alarm clocks, and television screens can be particularly disruptive.
7. Use your bedroom primarily for sleeping.
Do your best to set up a space that is dark, quiet, and well ventilated with the room temperature set appropriately.
8. Have a strategy for when you have difficulty falling asleep or falling back asleep after waking during the night.
A suggestion I have seen from many sources is to allow 20 minutes or so to go to sleep or back to sleep after waking. If you are still awake after 20 minutes then you may be better off getting out of bed and doing something relaxing such as reading or some kind of boring task such as sorting or filing paperwork till you feel drowsy.
9. Regular exercise can help some sleep problems.
Although regular exercise may be beneficial, the NIH recommends not doing any exercise within 2 hours of the time you go to bed.
?Resources:
National Institutes of Health
Sleep Disorders (There are more than 70 different types of sleep disorders)
Sleep and Women
I hope some of these tips will help you find a way to have more restful sleep. It could make a significant difference for you to achieve your weight loss goals. If nothing else take note of the days you seem to be extra hungry. Did you sleep well the night before? What have you observed?
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You may be able to get the full story by clicking here:
Women and Weight Website
Also, check out this great weight loss and health site for more ways to lose weight and stay healthy.
Health and Fitness
Source: http://itexmall.com/weight-loss/sleep-and-weight-loss/
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