Sleep and Weight Loss
Are you feeling a little frustrated about having reached a plateau in
your fitness goals?
You are eating right, drinking about 3 liters of water a day and
exercising regularly, Yet cannot get rid of that sneaky little bulge around
your mid-section.
Ask yourself a simple question: "How much sleep are you getting
these days?"
Ah yes, sleep!
Sleep, that illusive thing we Mums never seem to get enough of turns out
to be a crucial ingredient that has a profound impact on our health and overall
wellbeing. Yet most mums I know, myself included, find it hard to get the
minimum amount required every single night.
I envy my friends who routinely sleep 8 or 9 hours a night.
Yet sleep is indeed one of THE most powerful health and weight loss
boosters around, right up there with water and exercise.
In the words of personal trainer, Hollywood physique expert, Eric the
Trainer: 'When you exercise, you put in the request for transformation but the
transformation does not happen until you sleep."
And guess what!
For this transformation to happen it is imperative to get a minimum of
seven hours of uninterrupted sleep!
In other words, you can eat all the right things, drink ample amounts of
water, and exercise daily, but unless you get your needed sleep you will not
fully benefit from your efforts.
Here are a few reasons why:
Lack of sleep wreaks havoc on your metabolism
A study conducted at the University of Chicago suggests that lack of
sleep reduces weight loss efforts by 55%. In addition, only 25% of weight loss
by people who sleep less than 7 hours a night comes from fat. The rest comes
from loss of muscle and water, which is not what you want if you plan on being
healthy.
This is largely due to a slowing down of your metabolism in an effort to
conserve energy to execute the repair work it needs to do at night.
Did you get that? Even if you're doing everything else right - going to
the gym 5x per week, eating healthy, reducing stress, you're still going to be
slowing down your metabolism (and ultimately gaining fat) if you don't sleep
properly.
Sleep regulates your hunger hormone
Lack of adequate sleep leads to a higher production of gherkin, the
hormone that triggers hunger. Simultaneously, lower levels of the hormone
leptin are produced, the hormone which signals your body to STOP eating when
you are full.
Have you ever found yourself ravenous at midnight, raiding the cupboard
for anything to eat?
As your energy level drops, your body will naturally try to replenish,
and you'll feel hungry.
When you're tired you tend to reach for foods which will give you a
quick boost. Those tend to be foods with a high sugar content. The boost you
get will be short lived and you'll quickly find yourself needing another boost.
It becomes a vicious cycle that does not complement your health or your
curves!
Inadequate sleep lowers your resistance
I am a pretty strong willed woman but when I don't get enough sleep I am
powerless to resist the foods I normally avoid during the day.
I don't usually stack chips or other empty carbs in the house. But
chocolate or anything sweet is fair game when the midnight hour strikes and I
will scarf it down like a mad woman! Only to regret it minutes latter. But once
the damage is done, it's done.
Lack of sleep depletes your body of vitamins and minerals
Lack of sleep severely depletes your Vitamin C levels!
This important antioxidant plays a crucial role in stress management and
in maintaining a healthy immune system. And yes, proper vitamin C levels are
key to slowing down aging caused by free radicals that are present all around
us. Some studies have shown that increasing your vitamin C intake before a
workout can increase your calorie burn. So why start out depleted?
Vitamin C also boost your mood. So if you want to be happy in the
morning, get your beauty sleep! Your family will thank you for it! I know my
does.
Your zinc levels will also be impacted negatively from lack of sleep,
further compromising your immune system.
I've struggled with sleep most of my life. But getting a minimum of 7
hours of sleep every night has become one of my top priorities, and one that my
family understands. Sleep deprivation not only contributes to excess weight but
it ages you prematurely. I have a five year old and I want to be dancing my
heart out on her wedding day!
If like me you struggle with sleep, here are a few things you can do to
get your much needed rest:
Regular bedtime
Going to bed at the same time every night is the best way to get the
rest you need.
Listen to your body as it will let you know when the best time to hit
the pillow is. Your body temperature will drop and you will feel pleasantly
tired.
But you only have a small window of time, about a half hour, before your
body wakes up again. Ignore that window and you will have a hard time falling
asleep despite your best efforts for another 90 minutes.
Bedtime Routine
We know how valuable a bedtime routine is for our little ones, but it is
equally valuable for us moms.
Establish a nightly routine that relaxes you and stick to it. This is
the best signal you can give your body that it is time to wind down.
A brief warm shower can be soothing. Don't linger too long, however, as
you will end up waking up instead of winding down.
I love to drink a cup of warm herbal tea. This is a ritual that I shared
with my mum while I was still living at home. It fills me with warmth and
serenity.
Your bedroom is a sanctuary
Years ago, my family doctor, who is a sleep expert, told me to keep my
bedroom for two things only: sex and sleep.
Television or reading can be distracting and interfere with proper
sleep. I must admit I do like to read in bed. I find that curling up with a
good book and a cup of tea is just the right combination for unwinding after a
busy day.
Ultimately you need to find what works for you but make sure your
routine helps you unwind properly. Whatever you need to do to make sure you get
your beauty sleep, do it! When you sleep your body goes to work, repairing,
rebuilding and bringing every one of your systems back into balance. For the
average person this process requires a minimum of 7 hours of uninterrupted
sleep. For some more but never less. For teens and pre-teens, studies show that
9 hours and 15 minutes is the magic number.
If you compromise on your sleep, the repair work remains unfinished. If
that happens once in a while, your body will make up for lost time the
following night. But if you routinely get less sleep than you need, then you
are consistently creating a deficit and that is a recipe for disaster.
So do yourself and your family a favor and sleep the night away!
obesity and sleep apnea
Several studies have linked sleep and weight loss. If you sleep less
than seven hours a night, you increase your chances of being overweight or
obese. The consequences of being obese are significant. Obesity is strongly
related to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and
even some cancers.
Which comes first? Does the lack of sleep lead to obesity or does
obesity lead to a lack of sleep? It turns out they feed off of each other.
- A lack of sleep increases your time awake and therefore increases
your chances of eating. Unless you sleep walk, you can't eat while you are
sleeping. The midnight snack was invented by people who were awake at
midnight.
- Sleeping less may affect hormones that monitor feelings of hunger
and fullness. If your body's signaling devices are telling you that you're
hungry more often or affecting when you feel full, you will find it more
difficult to eat and drink fewer calories.
- A lack of sleep may lower a person's basal metabolic rate so that
they burn fewer calories than a similar person who sleeps more. That's
right! Your body is slowing down in it's bid to recover from the previous
day with inadequate sleep.
- Sleeping deprivation lowers your energy during the day which will
lower your desire to exercise. Who wants to exercise when they can barely
keep their eyes open or when they would rather take a nap on the couch
because they didn't get enough sleep?
- Unfortunately, your weight gain may hinder your sleep. The excess
weight can inhibit your breathing and lower the amount of oxygen you get
as you sleep. Sleep disorders such as sleep apnea are more common in obese
people than in normal weight persons. Sleep apnea is a disorder that can
lead to heart and lung issues.
You may have created a vicious circle. You gain weight as you get less
sleep and you find it more difficult to sleep as you gain weight. What can you
do about? Below are five tips that may help you sleep more than seven hours a
night.
- Don't drink caffeine, eat chocolates or eat foods high in sugar
after 2:00 in the afternoon. Yes 2:00 PM is arbitrary. Experiment with a
cutoff time, but remember, caffeine and sugars will keep you awake.
- Don't watch television in bed and turn off your computer and cell
phone an hour before going to sleep. Sound and visual stimuli bombard us.
It is difficult to rest when your brain is still wired to your
electronics. Turn them off and either read, talk or meditate.
- Experiment with when you exercise. Try it in the morning and see if
it increases your energy and helps you sleep. Or try it at night after
dinner and see if that helps with sleep. Either way, exercise as it will
use energy, burn calories and reduce stress.
- Don't sleep in on weekends. If you can stay consistent with your
sleep times on weekends, you will have a better chance of getting to sleep
on Sunday night.
- Turn your brain off. Write down the items you need to tackle and
place them in a drawer for the next morning. Meditate or practice deep
breathing and let go of the day's problems. They will still be there in
the morning. You can either tackle them refreshed or fatigued.
References
Valerie
Remy-Milora
Gregg
Ghelfi
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