3. Now, before you turn down the covers, fluff up your pillows,
and prepare to snore your way to a healthy weight, there’s
something you need to know about sleep and weight.
Getting the right amount and the right kind of sleep is just as
important as getting the right kind and the right amount of
food.
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4. Too much sleep will sabotage your
weight-loss efforts.
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5. Defining Terms
• From childhood, most of us are taught that 8 hours
constitutes a ‘good night’s sleep.
• Pregnancy and illness increase the need for sleep, as
well.
• In adulthood, however, 8 hours is generally too much
sleep.
• As for middle-agers, most feel and function best
sleeping somewhere between 5 and 7 hours each night.
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6. If you’re someone who’s tired all the time, it
may be hard for you to imagine that you
could need less sleep than you’re getting.
However the problem may be with the
quality of your sleep, not the quantity.
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7. Sleep Depression
• Sleeping too much may be a symptom of depression, but too
much sleep can also contribute to depression.
• It lowers energy levels and reduces motivation, and that
makes it hard to establish and maintain good diet and
exercise habits.
• Because sleep can cause depression, it is referred to as
“depressogenic.”
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8. • You don’t have to be clinically depressed to benefit from a
decrease in sleeping hours. Studies have reported an
elevation of mood in ‘normal’ subjects who sleep less, too.
• If you can consciously manipulate your sleeping behavior,
you’ll be able to elevate your mood and, in turn, lower your
weight!
• Using sleep to fight off depression and shore up your
emotional coping skills may help take weight off and keep
weight off.
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9. Depression Weight Gain
• The 69 women involved in the study, didn’t just consume more
calories…they got those calories from high-fat, high-calorie food.
• In other words, due to stress and depression, the woman who had
been engaging in healthy eating patterns regressed and began
eating more high-fat, high-calorie foods as a way of coping with
their feelings.
• Once answer is to incorporate mood-management techniques into
your weight loss program to help prevent the weight regain that
can occur as a result of unhealthy coping behaviors such as over-
eating.
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10. JUST ENOUGH SLEEP
• Even patients who believe that lack of sleep is
central to the cause of their depression have
benefitted dramatically benefited.
• The effect on mood is more profound that going to
sleep early.
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12. The Serotonin Connection (Calming
Sleep)
Serotonin is a chemical messenger
(neurotransmitter) in the body. Serotonin is
assoociated with calmness, elevated
mood…and sleep.
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13. The REM Connection (Quality Sleep)
‘REM Sleep’ gets its name from the rapid eye movements
that occur during good quality restful sleep. When you have
more REM sleep, the quality of your rest is better and you
need less sleep in order to feel rested and alert.
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14. The Exercise Connection (Natural
Sleep)
Regular exercise will naturally cause your body to want
to rest….unless it is done too close to bedtime. Exercise
has been found to increase hormone activities in the
body that are associated with an improved mood.
There also appears to be a link between increased
exercise and the body’s increased sensitivity to
serotonin.
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15. The Sunshine Connection (Happy
Sleep)
Many people complain of the ‘winter blues’ -- fatigue,
lowered motivation, sleepiness, fatigue, increased appetite,
weight gain, irritability, and decreased sociability. Some
people experience benefits within days.
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16. • High carbohydrate intakes have been found to improve the
moods of people, particularly athletes, who are known to
eat very high-carbohydrate, near-vegetarian, diets. And
people following a high-carbohydrate diet also report less
time spent sleeping, more restful sleep, and an increase in
dream activity.
• Eating carbohydrates helps to naturally increase tryptophan
levels in the brain. Furthermore, studies show that when a
diet that is high in carbohydrate is consumed, REM sleep is
increased.
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17. • A high-carbohydrate diet supplies the ideal fuel for exercise
and physical activity. Serious endurance athletes have long
known the benefits that come from loading up on
carbohydrates…the right carbohydrates.
• Atkins, South Beach, Protein Power and other of-the-
moment weight-loss programs recommend 10% or less of
calories from brain-fueling carbohydrates.
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18. What’s Right For YOU
• The “right amount” of sleep for you will be determined by
trial and error…literally!
• Your first step is to cut 1 to 2 hours off your allotted time to
sleep. Don’t be surprised if your body rebels a bit.
• Most people sleep away these valuable hours just after
dawn, missing the added benefits of ultraviolet light for their
mental health.
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19. 9 Simple Things You Can Do To Get
Just The Sleep You Need
• Take an afternoon stroll – An afternoon or early evening walk
promotes digestion, so your body will be able to sleep when night
falls.
• Turn down the lights - In the presence of less light, the brain
produces more melatonin, a hormone that has been proven to help
you feel sleepier, fall asleep faster, and make you sleep longer.
You can use room darkening shades or put on a sleeping mask.
• Block the noise – Noise – from honking cars to twittering birds –
can affect the quality of your sleep…even if you are not consciously
aware of it. One solution is earplugs. If they make you feel too cut
off, white noise or soothing music are helpful when you need to
block out distracting sounds.
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20. • Get comfy – Tossing and turning all night does not make for a
good night’s sleep. It’s important that you’re sleeping on a
good mattress and that the pillows are giving your neck the
right amount of support.
• Keep your cool - Sleep in a cool room (60 degrees or so).
You’ll sleep better if you pile on another blanket rather than
turn up the heat.
• Limit your activities in the bedroom – Watching television,
doing work, and especially eating are inappropriate behaviors
for the bedroom. There are only two things you should be
doing there…and one of them is sleeping.
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21. • Go bananas or go nuts. Bananas are practically a sleeping pill
in a peel. In addition to a bit of soothing melatonin and
serotonin, bananas contain magnesium, a muscle relaxant.
• Develop a pre-bedtime routine. Do the same thing every
night before going to sleep. For example, take a warm bath
and then read for 10 minutes. In a matter of days, you'll
connect these activities with sleeping, and doing them will
help make you sleepy.
• Don't nap during the day. If you have trouble getting to sleep
or staying asleep, a nap will probably make the situation
worse. On days when you feel especially fatigued, go to sleep
an hour earlier rather than taking a nap.
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22. For more info. Go to:
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