Archive for Sleep
Weight gain and sleep
Posted by: | CommentsResearchers at the University of Warwick report that that sleep deprivation can cause a two-fold increased risk of being obese for both children and s. They also found that those who sleep less have a greater increase in body mass index and waist circumference over time and a greater chance of becoming obese over time. Sleep derivation can cause hormonal changes, which then increases appetite.
I also think that its a lot easier to use food as a “pick-me-up” tool when one is tired from lack of sleep. It’s also more likely that fast food alternatives would be the fuel of choice. There’s a high probability that those who are consistently sleep deprived are also people who don’t focus on healthy eating behaviors and exercise as priorities in their life, which if sustained over time, could lead to physiological and psychological stress on their system (i.e., their energy), which then affects the quality of sleep and rest, and so forth.
Sleep and hypertension
Posted by: | CommentsFrom the Johns Hopkins Medicine Health Alert report:
“Researchers may have found a connection between sleep habits and high pressure. In a study reported in the journal Hypertension (Vol. 47, p. 833) researchers studied more than 4,800 Americans and found that young and middle-aged folks who clocked five or fewer hours of sleep each night were 60% more likely than their well-rested peers to develop hypertension over the next decade. Lack of sleep did not appear to raise pressure in people older than age 59, however.
The link between sleep habits and pressure remained even after the researchers controlled for weight, depression, smoking, and physical activity levels. This means there may be something about chronic sleep deprivation that raises a person’s pressure.
One possibility is that people who get little sleep have more exposure to the elevations in heart rate, pressure, and nervous system activity that come with being awake. As a result, the body may adapt to these chronic elevations by operating at a new, higher level. Chronic sleep deprivation might also throw a wrench in the central “clock” in your brain, which governs the rhythm of bodily processes, including pressure control.”
In addition, other studies have shown that sleep deprivation also causes a person to overeat and/or make less than ideal food choices (e.g., fast foods). The lesson here is that adequate rest is an important variable in the weight management equation.
Sleep and weight loss
Posted by: | CommentsSleep problems can be a strong influence on a person’s diet. Studies have shown that individuals who don’t get enough sleep are less likely to cook their own meals. They are more likely eat fast food. According to new research, the lack of nutritional value of restaurant-prepared food can cause health problems for these people in the long-run.
“The amount of sleep a person gets affects his or her physical health, emotional well-being, mental abilities, productivity and performance. Recent studies associate lack of sleep with serious health problems such as an increased risk of depression, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.”
Obviously, the kind of diet you adopt can affect the quality of sleep and the quality of rest and regeneration. The sleep-diet interaction (a body-food dynamic) is another example of how our lifestyle affects the food we eat, which affects how we sleep, which affects our energy level, which affects what we eat, and so forth. Conceivably, one can be caught in this loop, be completely unaware, and continue to tolerate a decreased quality of life — until its too late, and the forces of disease takes over.
