The hour before bed is usually reserved for phrases such as: just one more email, one more show, one more hour. Our days are so full that we are desperate to get ahead by doing more each and every day.
It’s true, being short on sleep can really affect your weight. While you weren’t sleeping, your body cooked up a perfect recipe for weight gain. Maintaining adequate amounts of quality sleep is essential for optimal health and wellbeing so why do we fight it? What if you could wake up every morning feeling refreshed, focused, and excited to move through your day?
When you are sleeping there are critical functions that need to happen to your mind and body: rest and recovery of internal organs, tissue repair, muscle growth and protein synthesis. Hormones that help regulate appetite control, stress, growth, metabolism, and other bodily functions are released. Memory is also formed and stored, which is essential for learning new information. There is a direct connection between sleep and health. The benefits of quality sleep include:
Increased energy - leading to better lifestyle choices
Strengthened immune system
Heightened alertness, focus, and creativity
Improved mood - by reducing anxiety, irritability, and mental exhaustion
Increased libido
How sleep deprivation affects you
The negative effects of sleep are very well documented, particularly by new parents and overworked professionals. Where once you were used to 7-10 hours you may be down to 4-5 hours per night, leading to sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation has been associated with:
Weight gain - People who don’t get good quality sleep are more likely to gain weight over time. This can also be attributed to late night binges when what your body really needs is sleep.
Increased risk of chronic disease - Chronic short sleep is associated with hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Without a good night’s sleep you are more susceptible to stress, your immune system does not function optimally, and inflammatory proteins and blood sugar levels increase.
Impairment of fine motor performance - Being tired leads to carelessness, accidents and mishaps.
Reduction in ability to concentrate - When you do not get enough sleep, your mental performance suffers. Your ability to process new information and perform complicated tasks are impaired.
Increased anxiety - It’s hard to keep your emotions in check when you’re tired. Increased feelings of irritability, anxiety, sadness, and anger are common.
How much sleep do we really need?
Most adults need 7-9 hours but the number of hours may vary, depending on what’s going on in your life. It’s important to pay attention to your own individual needs by assessing how you feel on different amounts of sleep. Try experimenting with your sleep to find out what works best for you and your lifestyle.
Fortunately, there are steps we can take to improve the quality of our sleep and overall quality of health. Several factors contribute to how well we sleep, including nutrition, environment, and daily rhythms.
How to improve your sleep
Nutrition
Eat a variety of foods and list sugar and caffeine intake.
Try a lighter evening meal, digestion requires energy, a large meal consumed at night may interfere with the body’s ability to rest.
Avoid late night beverages, leading to late night toilet runs.
Environment
Keep your bedroom for sleep - a cluttered space is a cluttered mind.
Remove all electronics from your room - These devices emit ‘blue light’ that can affect your body’s production of melatonin, and your quality of sleep. You may be more tempted to check your phone in the night so leave it where it can’t be reached.
Daily Rhythms
Create a bedtime routine - going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time each day can cause health body rhythms.
Meditation or breathing exercises - may help help relax and prepare you for bedtime.
Tracking your sleep habits can help identify any adjustments that need to be made to your sleep schedule.
Keeping a notepad as a place to write last minute thoughts can help clear unnecessary worry from your mind before you go to sleep.
When you’re short on sleep, it’s easy to lean on high fat foods and caffeine to get you through the day. You might be tempted to skip exercise, get takeout for dinner, and then turn in late because you’re uncomfortably full.
More than a third of us aren’t getting enough sleep on a regular basis. Yet experts agree that getting enough sleep is as important to health, wellbeing, and your weight as are diet and exercise. Sleep is like nutrition for the brain, getting less than 7-9 hours each night and your body will react in ways that lead even the most determined dieter straight to nighttime binges. Get sufficient sleep and watch the weight drop.
sources: WebMD: https://www.webmd.com/diet/sleep-and-weight-loss#1
National Sleep Foundation: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/excessive-sleepiness/support/how-much-sleep-do-we-really-need
