The Fitness Guru

A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that sleep deprivation led to increased calorie consumption. What does that mean exactly? It means that as you deprive yourself of a full night’s sleep, the result can be that you will eat more the following day.

The reason is not as simple as “well, I have a little more time on my hands, maybe I’ll grab a bite.” Sleep deprivation plays with two key hormone levels: leptin and ghrelin. Grehlin is a clever little hormone that increases your hunger. Skip those extra couple hours of shut eye and your grehlin levels increase, convincing your body that you are hungrier that necessary. And leptin, a powerful little hormone that tells your body its full and shuts your mouth, drops dramatically. In other words, your appetite will increase and there won’t be the usual shut off valve.

Interestingly, among the test subjects, the activity level of the people who slept fewer hours was much higher than the activity level of those that had a full night’s sleep.

But most of the activity was going to and from the refrigerator. And they were very grouchy and humorless.

So? What to do?

Get your 8 hours of sleep. If it is an issue for you, try a White Noise Machine (it will drown out all the annoying sounds that can wake you up before your time) or even the Olde School Sleep Mask.

The key is to remember we are talking about biochemistry here. You may think that you can get away with fewer hours and just try calorie restriction, but in the end, the hormones will get the better of you. That’s what they are there for.

So sleep up!……and rock on!!

Tired?
I am.

So is almost everyone I know. Seems to be a trend. When you are tired you a) crave junk food, b) are always in fight-ot-flight, c) have a greatly reduced immune system, and d) are so cranky no one wants to play with you.

Here are some hard stats:

• Sleep problems are reaching epidemic proportions, estimated to be the #1 health related problem in America – (CNN, May 1997.)
• Almost 74% of all Americans do not get enough sleep each night.
• Sleep deprivation costs $150 billion each year in higher stress and reduced worker productivity-(National Commission on Sleep Disorders, 2003.)
• Almost all adults don’t get enough sleep and most struggle to get up in the morning. “If we got enough sleep at night we wouldn’t need an alarm clock to wake us.” (Mayo Clinic). And half of America can’t get up without an alarm clock.
• Recent studies implicate sleep deprivation in diabetes.
• We sleep on average 6.9 hours/day, almost an hour less than a few decades ago.
• 43 percent of respondents reported that daytime sleepiness interfered with their normal daytime activities, including work. (NSF 2000.)
• 30-40% of heavy truck accidents are due to driver fatigue. National Sleep Foundation, 2002 Annual Sleep Survey.
• 51% of adults say they have problems sleeping at least a few nights each week.
• Almost 1/3 has trouble sleeping every night.

Blah blah blah blah…..

All I know is that if I’m tired, I’m probably pretty cranky and definitely useless after 2pm.

And sleeplessness has created a multi-BILLION dollar industry, from mattresses and white noise machines to Ambien and Unisom and fluffy pillows guaranteed to help you doze. You can spend a fortune trying to get to sleep at night. And in the end, there is no guarantee.
Add to that the fact that sleeplessness adds to our national weight issue (for those of you just catching up, 66% of the adult population is overweight or obese. That number is slated to go up to 85% by 2030). Sleeplessness makes you eat more and feel less satisfied. And it elevates levels of a hormone called Visfatin (ironically, “Fat Power”) from belly fat which creates insulin resistance.

Blah blah blah…….

If you have made it this far without dozing off, here’s what you are going to do:

1. Calm your mind
All those voices and noises in your head! How could anyone sleep? Develop a practice through meditation and breathing, or even something as simple as reading quietly. Teach yourself to quiet all that noise so that when it is time to go to bed, you are ready to sleep.

2. Keep you internal clock on time
“Yeah! It’s the weekend! I’ll catch up on sleep!” But that “catch up” is going to be trouble when Monday comes. Set your body to a specific clock and try not to vary it by more than an hour. The habit will pay off in better sleep hours.

3. Eat
Studies have shown that people who cut back on calories in order to lose weight also have problems with sleep. Have a small snack before bed. Try protein, like an egg or cheese. Protein will help the cause far better than fat.

4. Use the bed for sleep
Yes, yes I know. Ha ha ha. Okay now get serious again. No reading, no TV, no late night phone calls or texting. Sleep is your religion and the bed is your church. You must hold the church sacred. Go to bed and go to sleep. Period.

5. Start a bedtime practice of destressing
This can start a few hours before bed time. Find practices that help to calm you, like yoga and stretching; listen to classical music; read something that will focus your mind, like a book as opposed to a trashy magazine that will get your mind flying every which way.

6. Nothing electric for a couple of hours before bed
As a society, we are WAY too plugged in. Unplug. No TV,computer, phone, text– you know the list. It’s anything that stirs your mind and creates even a low level of anxiety. But also watch out for lights, even something as dim as your alarm clock or cell phone. Those little lights can be exptremely distracting.

And, finally, perhaps needless to say, if you sleep with someone who is disruptive, either because of snoring or a love of David Letterman…..well……you know what you have to do.

Now you’ll have to excuse me. My pillow is calling for my mid-afternoon nap.