Could Lack of Sleep Add to Weight Worries?
By admin on Jul 19, 2010 in Health and Fitness
Getting your zzz’s might be as important to a healthy weight as what you eat and how active you are. Consider these two recent findings:
- In a controlled experiment, 12 young men reported feeling hungrier before both breakfast and dinner after sleeping only four hours a night compared to eight. The result? They ate on average 600 more calories — the equivalent of a Big Mac.*
- In a seven-year study of over 7000 men and women aged 40-60 — an age at which many of us put on unwanted pounds — researchers found that about one-third of women who reported sleep problems gained weight, while only one-fifth of women with no sleep problems did so.**
The exact link between sleep and weight isn’t clear as studies are conflicting. For example, in the latter study above, weight gain in men wasn’t linked to sleep problems. The confusion may be related to other factors, such as hormonal shifts that interfere with many women’s sleep in middle age. Then there’s just individual predisposition.
Still, if you’ve ever noticed feeling hungrier after a poor night’s sleep, and you know who are, try these tips for sleeping well. A reduced appetite might just be one of the many calming benefits of good night of rest.
- Minimize or avoid stimulants. No alcohol within three hours of bedtime, no caffeine after 2 pm, check medications for stimulating effects.
- Avoid anxiety-provoking activities before bedtime. Could a thriller create as much tension as bad news? It might. So consider what you read as well as watch (think the news) and do (no paying bills just before bedtime). It goes without saying that an argument just before we turn in doesn’t make for an easy entry into the land of nod.
- Get on a schedule. Regular hours for turning in and rising train our biological clocks. Try to get to bed before midnight, and avoid late-afternoon naps.
- Avoid large meals, spicy foods, too much fluid too close to bedtime. Some experts advise no eating at least three hours before sleep. If you’re hungry, however, you may end up sleeping even more poorly. The quantity of what we eat may make the difference. One thing is for sure: If we drink too much fluid, we’ll likely find ourselves stumbling out of bed in the wee hours in search of the bathroom. If we’re prone to insomnia, that’s all we need to spend a few hours wide awake when we’d rather be snoozing. Limit fluids to 4-8 ounces before bed.
What helps you get a good night’s sleep?
*American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, June 2010
** International Journal of Obesity, online June 2010
Credits to:Nutrition Data: Dieting & Weight Loss Blog