Eating Strategies for the Sleep Deprived?

knotmel

I’ve had interrupted sleep most nights for a few weeks recently and am seeing it affect my food choices. It doesn’t matter what I plan for the day, I crave sugar. Yesterday I grazed my way through a lot of unsatisfying sugary snacks. Today, I planned for it and had a soda at lunch—probably similar calories/nutrition level, but I felt more in control because I didn’t go off plan. In the long run, I’d rather not drink soda on a daily basis (tends to crowd out more nutritious options for me and leave me hungrier for the calories than other choices), but it was a good tool today.

I think sugar/calorie cravings after a poor night of sleep is a pretty common phenomenon, so I was wondering whether anyone had strategies that work for them in this situation. I’m ok with a soda occasionally, but this period of interrupted sleep has lasted long enough to not be a blip and I’d like to try some other approaches.

I’m not looking for sleep strategies—the interruptions aren’t sleep hygiene related, but things like middle of the night coughing fits and attending a sick kiddo. (Kindergarten plus the “tripledemic” have hit us hard!) I’m more interested in possible ways to stay on track when sleep interruption has already happened.

Thanks!

AnnPT77

I have sleep interruptions for different reasons than you do, but typically wake up every hour or two all night long, so my sleep is poor quality, and usually I give up and get out of bed after total sleep duration on the short side of good. (I don't need anyone to suggest things. My sleep apnea is treated, I've tried dozens of things, this has been going on for 20+ years with many interventions, medical and otherwise.)

Earlier on, I was having sweets cravings, and especially evening cravings - so very likely fatigue related. The solutions are likely to be individual, but things that helped me with appetite/cravings, that you could consider trying. (Some of them need like a 30-day trial, but others at least a few days - this is not quick-fix stuff.)

* Making it a point to eat at least 3 servings of fruit daily, while (initially) resisting other more calorie-dense and nutrient-poor sweets like candy and baked goods. Eventually, the cravings for other sweets subsided, and later I could reduce fruit.
* Experimenting with timing of meals/nutrients. For me, a solid breakfast with plenty of protein, then protein through the day, seemed to have the best appetite/craving-countering effects, but it could be a different formula for you.

Other things that might help, generically: Stress management or stress reduction techniques like meditation, journaling, etc. (Stress is fatiguing.) Adding mild exercise (and avoiding extreme/intense exercise for your current fitness level). Not cutting calories super-hard for fast loss, and not restricting food categories arbitrarily - those things are stressful, and slow/steady can work better with less fatigue.

I hope you're able to find a solution!

knotmel

Thanks, @AnnPT77 ! This has given me some things to work on, and helped me pinpoint why, after weeks of sleep disruption, it’s come to a head this week: extra stressful week, avoiding fruit because I didn’t want to go to the store but wanted to make sure the kid had what he wanted, and not exercising because of sinus infection/bronchitis. It has kind of been a perfect storm week on the exhaustion front. I think I’m going to do a mid-week grocery run for more fruit, because that’s under my control at the moment, and think about other stress reduction techniques until I’m ready to jump back into activities again. Thanks, again!