Importance of Sleep

My challenge had become to get MORE sleep each night.  I average about 4-6 hours per night now – and I know that this is not enough!  We should be getting 7.5 to 8.5 hours of sleep each night.  I've been trained to read and analyze clinical studies, so I've been reading studies on sleep, hormone balance and weight.  Maybe, when I see more scientific proof with my own eyes, I will be able to make myself get more sleep!  Nearly 2/3 of American’s aren't getting enough sleep during a typically week.

Today, more than 30% of adult men and women are sleeping less than 6 hours per night.  Numerous studies have been and are being conducted that link less sleep to increased weight.  Many hormones are affected by sleep duration and sleep plays an important role in our energy balance.
Lack of sleep decreased activity in our brain’s frontal lobe.  The frontal lobe is responsible for decision making and impulse control

Lack of sleep increases our brain’s reward centers – setting us up to look for something that feels good.  For example, craving comfort foods and carbs.

A consistent bedtime and consistent wake time are associated with lower body fat percentages.
Quality of sleep is important for body composition.

Less than 6.5 or more than 8.5 hours of sleep per night is associated with higher body fat.
Many hormones are impacted from insufficient sleep.

The 2 main hormones impacted by sleep are our hunger and fullness hormones.  Ghrelin is the hormone that signals our brain that it’s time to eat.  Leptin is the hormone that signals our brain that we are full.  When we are sleep deprived, our bodies make more ghrelin and less leptin.  So it is no wonder that sleep deprivation leads to overeating and extra pounds.

Chronic insufficient sleep keeps our bodies under stress – and increased stress leads to an increase in the stress hormone cortisol.  Excess cortisol tells your body to conserve energy thus lowering your metabolism, storing fat, increasing appetite and increasing sugar cravings.

Another effect of sleep deprivation relates to insulin.  Our bodies aren't able to respond to insulin (also a hormone) as effectively as we should, insulin resistance.  Insulin is needed to change sugar, starches and other foods into energy.  Our bodies end up storing fats from our bloodstream as actual fat when we can’t respond to insulin as we should.

Tips for higher quality of sleep include exercising regularly, keeping temperature in your room cool, having a quiet room, having a dark room, not using our beds to work or read, turning off all electronics at least 30 minutes before bedtime and no caffeine after 2 pm.