How Sleeping more can help you achieve your weight goals!
posted in Home |By Barry Rudd BAppSc (HMST) MAAESS AEP
Many of us will wake up on the first of January 2008 with a resolution to lose some weight over the coming year. We all know that diet and exercise are two of the factors related to our weight loss; but what many of us don’t know is that a good nights sleep is integral to a successful weight loss plan. However with work, family, social and sports commitments who has time for a good night sleep. Besides, that extra cup of coffee in the afternoon will keep us going, right? Wrong. The average adult needs 7 - 9 hours sleep per night.
Everyone will tend to put all their energy into changing their diet and exercise regime while neglecting sleep. We tend to lack sleep to attempt to increase our work and social free time without knowing that we are actually sabotaging our weight loss and daily energy levels. It has been shown that people who regularly get less than seven hours of sleep per night have higher body fat percentages than those who get adequate sleep.
Recent studies have shown a shocking link between not getting enough sleep and the levels of different regulatory hormones. Have you ever experienced a night of little or no sleep, followed by a day where no matter what you ate, you never felt full or satisfied? If this is the case, you have experienced the affects of two of the appetite hormones: Ghrelin and Leptin. Ghrelin is found in the digestive tract and its job is to stimulate the appetite. Leptin is produced in fat cells and signals the body when you are full.
Lack of sleep causes Ghrelin levels to rise and Leptin levels to fall; the result of this is and increased craving for food, and not feeling full after eating. This increased hunger has also been seen to include an increased appetite for carbohydrate rich and calorie dense food. Looking at this it is easy to see that this cycle repeated over a long period of time, can easily result in weight gain.
Lack of sleep has also been shown to affect the hormones that regulate carbohydrate metabolism and fat storage. This can result in higher blood glucose levels, excess fat storage and eventual insulin resistance (a significant contributing factor to Type II diabetes).
All these facts are well and good, but they are of no use to us if we can’t fall asleep when the lights go out. Here are some important tips to help improve your quality of sleep.
1. Don’t eat right before you go to bed, but make sure you have a filling dinner so you don’t go to bed hungry.
2. Don’t use your bed for work or watching the TV. Once you get into bed use it for sleeping.
3. From mid-afternoon onwards avoid substances that aren’t conducive to sleep; these include caffeine, chocolate, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages.
4. Develop a pre-sleep routine and stick to it every night. This may include preparing lunch for tomorrow, having a shower, bushing your teeth and reading a book for 10-15 minutes. This will allow your body time to wind down and relax.
So although trying to fit in an extra hour or two of sleep a night may seem like a daunting task, remember: when you wake up you’ll have more energy and feel better, allowing you to accomplish more in your day. In the long run your ability to lose weight and your health are more important than that last check of you emails, or hour of T.V. So brush your teeth, get under the doona and give your weight loss plan the jump start it needs.