Aaahhhh! Can’t get a good night’s sleep? I feel your pain, if I keep tossing and turning all night, I’ll barely be able to function the next day. But do you know that it can make you gain weight?
Sleep is an important part of our daily cycle. During sleep the body begins to regenerate and repair itself from the activities of the day. Depriving yourself when it comes to getting enough sleep can cause changes in your body that promote weight gain.
During this the body does a lot of work. When you sleep, your brain processes what happened during the day. At night the body recovers from stress. If you exercise, your muscles are burning fat even while you sleep.
So, what happens when you don’t get enough sleep? In the short term, lack of sleep increases stress levels, reduces focus, changes your mood and can lead to headaches and forgetfulness. Think, when you stay up late to finish a project or party late into the night, these effects are likely to be noticed immediately – especially when you start to feel tired and want to sleep, but can’t.
Looking at it over the long term, sleep deprivation on an almost regular basis can start to affect what’s going on deep inside your body, at a cellular level. Since the body is not being given the necessary time to repair itself, body systems can break down.
Researchers are now interested in the connection between lack of sleep and weight gain.
Without sleep, the metabolic system doesn’t respond the way it should. Even young people can develop diabetes-like symptoms. The way the body uses insulin becomes impaired. Also, there can be a problem of high blood pressure. These are such problems that usually occur in old age but now they are also happening in young people.
When metabolism slows, it means the body is not using fat efficiently for fuel. Furthermore, poor nutritional habits lead to excess fat intake which eventually leads to obesity.
As you age, metabolism slows down as well. Along with this, lack of sleep can lead to dangerous health problems. When the body cannot repair itself, you become vulnerable to disease. The short-term effects are even more pronounced.
Many women struggle with sleep during the menopausal years. It is fluctuating estrogen levels that cause a sharp rise in body temperature that wakes women up from their sleep to find they are drenched in sweat, this is not a recipe for a good night’s sleep!
how to cope:
Take a hot Epsom salt bath before bed. Magnesium helps to relax muscles.
Avoid eating large meals before sleeping, especially spicy foods. Eat foods like yogurt, nuts, milky drinks and bananas that contain high levels of tryptophan which helps in inducing sleep.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Limit coffee drinking to mornings only and switch to decaffeinated tea after 4 pm.
Place a thin sheet under your quilt, next to your skin, so you can change the sheet and the quilt stays dry.
Keep an electric fan near your bed.
Meditation and yoga are also great ways to relax the body in preparation for sleep.
Of course everyone is different and what works for some will not for others. It’s certainly worthwhile trying to implement some of the suggestions, if not all. You never know, you just might get the best night’s sleep you’ve ever had!
Source by Lorraine Harkins
