Crappy sleeping.

helenarriaza

My Fitbit Premium sleep page reads the following:

You averaged 4hrs 34min of sleep per night this week. A good night's rest is important for your alertness during the day and for keeping you healthy. It is recommended that you get between 7 and 9 hrs of sleep a night. You get 2hrs 25min less than that and your sleep times have gone down by 21% since last week. If you can, try to get some more rest.


With having only 2 more classes to end my Law School student career, third year of french, a credit card bill that is driving me nuts and a job that is tearing me to pieces, the last thing on my head is sleep. :frown:


Now that I'm on my weight loss journey (ups and downs, consistency is not my thing) I started to notice that the days I was more rested I was more cheerful as to drinking my water, eating my fruits and veggies, working out and being my perky self.

The days that I didn't sleep much I was irritable and mostly hugged a coke/coffee/redbull with some junk food for breakfast (anything is breakfast), I forgot about working out and I threw my water infusion down the sink. :grumble:


So, I wondered if I was the only one and I saw that I'm not! Then I started reading about this and I found:

"Sleep affects the levels of several hormones in your body. Two hormones that play an important role in stimulating and suppressing your appetite are leptin and ghrelin. Leptin is produced by your body’s fat cells and is responsible for suppressing hunger. Ghrelin is released by your stomach, and stimulates your appetite. Lack of sleep lowers the levels of leptin in your blood and heightens the levels of ghrelin, which results in an increase of appetite. The reverse is also true: getting enough sleep decreases hunger and will therefore help you lose weight.

Getting eight hours of sleep at night helps you lower the cortisol levels in your blood, while lack of sleep raises your cortisol levels. Higher levels of cortisol lead to a lower metabolism. Breaking protein down into glucose is stimulated by cortisol. If you have too much glucose in your body, it will get stored as fat. On top of this, cortisol interferes with your body’s ability to build muscle mass. If you are trying to lose weight, you want to make sure that you have low cortisol levels in your blood. Getting enough sleep helps you do just that. "

Oh. Damn. The glucose bit is a bit scary since I have hyperinsulinism.

Also the NYTimes says the following:

" The relationship between sleep loss and weight gain is a strong one, borne out in a variety of studies over the years. Large population studies show that both adults and children are more likely to be overweight and obese the less they sleep at night. In smaller, controlled studies, scientists find that when people are allowed to sleep eight hours one night and then half that amount on another, they end up eating more on the days when they’ve had less sleep. One pivotal study at the University of Colorado in March showed that losing just a few hours of sleep a few nights in a row caused people to pack on an average of about two pounds. People become less sensitive to insulin, raising their risk of Type 2 diabetes."

Oh isn't that lovely. :grumble:

" The research showed that when the subjects were bleary-eyed and sleep-deprived, they strongly preferred the food choices that were highest in calories, like desserts, chocolate and potato chips. The sleepier they felt, the more they wanted the calorie-rich foods. In fact, the foods they requested when they were sleep deprived added up to about 600 calories more than the foods that they wanted when they were well rested."

No wonder why my Anything-is-breakfast thing was not working for me.:indifferent:

Oh and bonus!

" If you are overweight, you may face additional complications related to sleep. According to the Mayo Clinic, many overweight people also have sleep apnea, which can cause a person to stop breathing maybe hundreds of times a night and interrupt their sleep. The Mayo Clinic reports that some overweight people have lower back pain and are depressed, both of which can interfere with a good night's sleep."

Hello Prozac my old friend.

So, what can I do to sleep if my environment is not being friendly?

"It's important to make sure that the quality of your nightly sleep is deep and gives you the rest your body needs. The Mayo Clinic recommends the following to help you get a good night's rest:

1. Unwind before bedtime with a warm bath or shower, yoga stretches, meditation and/or listening to quiet music.
2. Stay away from caffeine in the afternoon and evening, and limit your alcohol consumption to one drink at least a few hours before bedtime.
3. Exercise, but not right before bedtime.
4. Don't take naps.(Oh come on!)
5. Go to bed when you're tired, but get up at the same time every day whether you've had a good amount of sleep or not.
6. If you have trouble staying asleep at night, keep clocks where you can't see them. This may help you avoid feeling stressed about the amount of time during which you've been unable to fall back asleep. "


So, I'll try to get some sleep into my life.

Somehow. :huh:

Do you have some tips?

DanaDark

Sleep in pitch blackness and dead silence.
Do not use any electronic devices before bed such as computer, TV, phones, etc. for about 30 minutes beforehand.

To help get your mind off of stress, pick up a leisure book to read while in bed. Read 15 to 30 minutes then go to sleep. DO NOT choose books on topics you are passionate about (such as political opinion books). Something more for the imagination like Lord of the Rings or Twilight, or whatever flavor you like.

Sleep is INCREDIBLY important. We do not all require 8 hours of sleep either, so, you'll need to find out your optimal rest period and then make plans to be able to achieve it.

dietcoke281

If you can't sleep, don't stay in bed. After 30(ish) minutes of not being able to sleep, get up and go to another room, maybe read a book, or just sit quietly. Go back to bed when you're tired. The point is not to associate your bedroom with sleeplessness. Also, ban electronics from your room (easier said than done!) including laptop, phone, tv.

catladyksa

Well, I agree with what the others have said....dark room, no electronic devices. What I do though is I started to play CD relaxation music such as Reki....what they would play if you were having a massage. All the lights are out, and the music is playing at a low volume in the background....this sort of creates a background noise that is pleasant to hear. I used to use soft ear plugs...I still do this when I travel on planes. I play the music and also read books. The problem with reading in bed, is that it has created a bad habit for me....it seems whenever I start to read something...I want to drop off to sleep!! Not a good thing at work!!

ddrhellbunny

Dark room with blackout curtains and ear plugs. I seriously cannot stress the ear plugs enough. They are comfy to wear and it's just utter silence. Been getting way better sleep since I started using them.

nerdymathgrrl

I agree with most of the suggestions--blackout curtains, getting up if you're tossing and turning, no electronics in the bedroom.... However, if you can't sleep in silence, try a white noise machine or a fan. I can't sleep without my fan!

PinkyPan1

I personally have started taking 2 Benadryl every night so I can get 7-8 hours sleep. I have never slept better. I feel good when I wake, I am losing weight, exercising and full of energy.

Alatariel75

I agree with the dark room and the lack of noise - I sleep with a fan on even in winter because the hum covers all ambient noise. I also agree with using your bedroom for sleep (and other bed related activities ) but not for TV watching or anything else.

I don't know about taking Benadryl or anything like that - seems to be masking the issue instead of learning better habits.