You Snooze, You Lose
After crunching the numbers on more than 1,000 participants in a study, researchers found that roughly eight hours of sleep correlates with a lower body mass index, lower levels of ghrelin (a hormone that triggers appetite) and higher levels of leptin (a hormone that signals that the body is full).
From the American College of Physicians, December 7th, 2013 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine comes a
study that suggests that there is a correlation between lack of sleep and weight gain. Chief author, Dr. Eve Van Cauter, Professor of Medicine, University of Chicago, states,
“If you do not run a sleep debt, you will be able to curb your appetite more easily and maintain or lose
weight.”
A full article on the original research on the December 2013 FitCommerce.com website notes that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone and decreases levels of a hormone that can make you feel full. These 2 factors lead to cravings for sweets, chips, and starchy fare like bread and pasta thus setting up the scenario for weight gain.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, An estimated 63% of American adults do not get the recommended 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. They report that the average adult gets 6.9 hours of sleep on
weeknights and 7.5 hours on weekends, for a daily average of 7 hours.
The researchers point out that the decline in time spent sleeping correlates to the rise in obesity in the U.S.
Statistics show that less than one-quarter of young American adults sleep eight to nine hours per night — down from about 41 % in 1960. The article notes that this scenario sets up a downward cycle.
Not having enough sleep leads to weight gain, then weight gain and obesity leads to sleep difficulties
that can affect the quality of sleep, and therefore causes even more sleep loss and therefore more weight gain.
It’s a vicious circle…
Everyone knows that losing weight is at the top of many people’s goals. With over 60 percent of Americans being overweight, and roughly 40 percent of them being clinically obese, it’s no surprise that 40 percent of Americans’ top New Years resolution is consistently… Lose Weight!
Turns out, getting more sleep is a great start.
But people have excuses. Let’s see if we can address at least some of them.
“I’m not tired.”
If you’re consistently getting less than seven hours of sleep a night, you should be tired. If not, examine some possible reasons. Do you drink coffee at night? If so, try chamomile tea instead. Do you get any exercise? If not, you should. What is your late night routine? It might be too mentally stimulating. If you spend your evenings playing intense online role playing games or watching action films, it might be getting you amped up. Try listening to a book on CD or reading instead.
“There’s just so much to do.”
This is either true or it’s not. Here’s how it’s not true. At some point during your day, you’re wasting time. Do you procrastinate at work, causing you to have to catch up at night? Do you feel compelled to clean your kitchen at 11pm so you can watch TV after dinner? Maybe you should do these things at the proper time rather than pushing them until later.
If it is true, then you’re stretched too thin and something will eventually break. It’s natural for the first several months after a baby is born, but there aren’t many other excuses for being too busy to sleep. Let some obligation go. Are you PTA president, Girl Scouts volunteer, full-time job, nightly cook and bedtime story reader? Get rid of some of those. Take care of yourself.
“I want some ‘me’ time.”
This one’s tough. A lot of us just give all of our time to the job, the family and life’s many administrative duties that when bedtime rolls around, we think we’ll push it down the road a while and finally do something fun. Maybe it’s turning on a movie at 11pm, or settling down with a book or making ourselves a martini and sitting on the porch. The answer to that is, I guess, unfortunately… have fun some other time. Plan something amazing for when you know you’ll have time. Get some sleep instead.
You’ll be happier, healthier and have more energy when the time comes that you finally can let loose and have some fun.