Some of you may know and some of you may not know but sleep plays a huge part in your weight gain. For example, if you are feeling sleepy during the day you will not grab the most healthiest snack in sight, instead you will reach for a greasy burger or potato chips. I have been guilty of this a few times as the first thing I want when I am sleepy is pizza. :) This lack of sleep you encounter will also cause you not to exercise or exercise properly and your cycle of not so healthy food eating will continue during the day. Due to this when it is time for bedtime you are to wound up to get a good night sleep and to top it off all of the junk food you ate throughout the day is just sitting on your stomach. This in turn sets the stage for obesity and more sleep loss.
Studies have shown that the average person needs at least 7.5 hours of good sleep a night. If you are not getting enough good sleep (sleep through the night comfortably) then your metabolism will not function properly. Your nightly metabolism has two essential hormones which are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone that tells you to eat and Leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating. When you are sleep deprived you have more of the gherlin hormone and less of the leptin hormone which in turn causes you to eat more making your metabolism run slower.
To aid in your sleep deprivation verify how much you sleep vs. how good you sleep. When getting the full hours recommended and not being able to sleep comfortably then it can be more of an underlying problem and this is when you may want to speak to a sleep specialist to figure out what the underlying cause is. When you figure out the majority of the problem is you not having a set schedule or staying up extra hours to catch up on your favorite show, or partying hearty to only get up early the next day then that is when you need to follow the steps below.
- Avoid any caffeine during the day as it will keep you up in the evening hours when you actually should begin to get tired.
- If coffee is necessary, only drink decaf from 2pm on.
- Exercise during the day (morning if possible) as it will tire you out by the end of the day and improve sleep quality as well as your metabolism.
- Watch what you eat before bed time. Which means no pasta or takeout which will just sit heavy on your stomach and cause sleep deprivation and also heartburn at times which will be sure to keep you up.
- If hungry before bed eat a light healthy snack or something like a bowl of cereal.
- Set a sleep schedule for yourself, for example, getting in bed everynight at the same time. Your body will adjust to this and you will catch a good snooze at the same time everyday.
These small but efficient steps will help you get back into the sleeping groove and out of the sleep deprivation rut.
Stay Fab!
