You may have probably heard or read somewhere that lack of sleep is likely to be tied up with obesity and today we find an interesting highlight that may sort of explain the whole issue. Ordinarily, lack of sleep may make you think you are forced to eat less with the notion that you would prefer to sleep than eat. But an experiment proved otherwise.

Apparently the trick was done using some photos of food on 12 normally weighted men. They did not sleep and after some scans showed a high level of activity that is associated with hunger. They were reportedly hungrier even without sleep compared to the ones who got some nap.

The heightened desire to eat is what the scientists call “Hedonic Stimulus Processing”. So if you want some good advice, try to get some sleep and forget that notion of sleeping over eating when needed. It may make a difference in calories, especially if you are trying to lose weight.

Via

a

Sleep deprivation is obviously a health issue and while many feel that they feel floating due to the lack of shuteye, it does have a say on your appetite and eventual road to obesity if you are not careful. This was of course learned thanks to a study from the Columbia University’s New York Obesity Research Center.

Hunger has been identified as an effect of sleep deprivation together with potential consumption of additional calories. Actually, it only solidifies the claim that obesity does have some connections with the sleep problem, leading to a potential causative effect.

Women in the study who slept for only four hours ate an average of 329 more calories than when they were allotted nine hours. Men consumed 263 more. The study consisted of 13 male and 13 female volunteers between the ages of 30 and 45. They followed a strict schedule for two 6-day stints, one allowing the longer sleep times and one keeping them slightly sleep-deprived.

Read

a

If you are conscious about your weight, then exercising may not be the only solution. In fact, you can probably sleep on it! Especially if you are in your teens, a study suggest that the best ways to fight calories and the fat is to sleep regularly.

This is not the first time we have heard of the link between obesity and sleep loss. It has been reported by other studies that lack of sleep may alter levels of hormones that regulate one’s appetite, but only a few tried to see the influence of sleep loss on a person’s eating habits.

Image Credits

Read

a

Sleep would normally be contribute to weight gain but it seems that it can be a good way to stay slim as well. At least that is what some researchers found when normal-weight young men consumed extra calories when they had just four hours of sleep the night before compared to when they slept for eight hours.

Given the findings and the fact that people have been sleeping less and getting fatter over the past few decades, “sleep restriction could be one of the environmental factors that contribute to the obesity epidemic”, the researchers wrote in the American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition. Care to try it?

(Source) Asia One

a

After a year of waiting, the FitBit will be officially in the market by this month. The FitBit is a gadget you can flip on to your shirt which will in turn determine how much exercise you have been doing and how much calories you are burning. The device can also track your sleep patterns based on movement. In this case, you can convert it to a wristband since there are some people who may not necessarily be dressed to sleep.

The FitBit will retail for $90.

(Source) Gadget Review

a

While studies are reliable, it seems like this is similar to sleeping more even if it means craving for something in your stomach. Would that be good or bad? The reason for this is would foregoing sleep in times of hunger possibly lead to other health problems like ulcers?

Losing weight is one thing but affecting the other health concerns is another. We all want to get good sleep and keep fit, but there is some doubt with regards to the reliability of this scientific finding.

(Source) Web MD

a

Rest assured, they will not be easy. The element of time and of course body response to it will be important as well. Considering that we must first adhere towards mental and bodily reactions, treating insomnia can be done naturally.

Here are some natural Insomnia cures as reported by NECN:

1. Avoid High Calories
2. No Water after 3 PM
3. Passion Flower
4. Natural Calm

Don’t understand them? Watch the video for a more detailed explanation.

a

The ideal weight for most of us is something that is hard to do these days, especially if you have been used to sleeping and eating as you wish. Many find it difficult if not impossible but with the proper determination; you can really battle the obesity syndrome that has a pretty big bearing when it comes to sleeping and being healthy.

With lack of exercise, your heart is suffering a lot from it. With lesser calories to burn, there is no telling what would happen to you, even in your sleep. Now encountering problems in your sleep has to be the worst kind of thing that you can experience and basing it from the people we see today, it would be best to try simple exercises with focus and concentration to make sure we have our bodies functioning in the right way healthy people do.

1. Walking
2. Jogging
3. Calisthenics
4. Tai Chi
5. Sports
6. Swimming

These are plain and simple exercises you can use as alternative. All it takes is the right way of thinking and you can be assured of a better and healthier life and sleep.

a

If you know what is good for you, you may want to think twice about grabbing that midnight snack, especially if you want to sleep soundly. Apparently, we all know that the food that we digest at times of needing to satisfy that hunger when we are awake in the late evenings or early mornings may not necessarily be good for us in terms of being able to burn and digest them.

There is something more towards midnight snacks and it has been tied up with stress and disrupted sleep.

Each time they wake, they head for the kitchen to eat food high in carbohydrates, such as chocolate, cake, bread and biscuits. Night eaters may consume half their daily calorie intake after their evening meal and this frequently leads to weight gain. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found typical nocturnal eaters consumed 500 calories more than those whose sleep was undisturbed.

It appears that night eating is a result of a brain chemical imbalance — eating boosts the feel-good chemical serotonin in night eaters’ bodies, thus stimulating sleep. Adrienne Baillie-Carrigan, 44, from Fleet, Hampshire, suffers from the disorder.

(Source) The Telegraph

a

Sleeping is one of the things that people would love to do. But apparently, people have to discipline themselves and make sure that they get the adequate sleep recommended for people today. Apparently, there are some beliefs that many would agree to while others would consider as based on beliefs and myths. But myth or not, it remains that we have to manage ourselves well since in the end, lacking sleep will take its toll on us.

Here are some common myths of sleeping and insomnia. We may or may not agree with them but they are apparently related to how we perceive and understand sleep as a whole.

1. Humans Need Eight Hours Sleep a Night: There are many ways of sleeping and few cultures sleep in eight-hour consolidated blocks like we do. In places like Bali and New Guinea, people tend to slip in and out of sleep as they need it, napping more during the day, and getting up more at night.
2. Sleep Isn’t Just a Bodily Function: Sleep is a biological, physiological system, akin to the cardiovascular system, the nervous system and so on.
3. Animals Don’t Have Sleep Problems: Insomnia occurs in animals and insects, too, sort of. Technically, insomnia is defined as a “complaint,” and since animals can’t complain, it’s difficult to measure in them
4. Falling Asleep Is a Gradual Process. Nope. Instead, for most people, it switches on and off like a light switch. But for insomniacs and narcoleptics, the switch doesn’t quite work.
5. Sleeping Less Burns More Calories. In the short term, yes, but sleeping less probably won’t help you lose weight. Lack of sleep suppresses our natural appetite-depressants, while fueling appetite-increasers, often leading to weight gain.

(Source) Newsweek

a

Sleep has a lot of benefits. Aside from the usual rest that most people long for, it also has its share of contributing towards people who undertake strenuous exercises such as sports and body building. Hence, while you are counting your calories, it would be best to see the power that sleep can bring as far as pulling the overall power back to normal.

Apparently factors such as proper sleeping hours and the bed we lay on are relevant. We are often told to get some rest. Now on how to analyze and go about it is another thing. We just have to think practical.

Sleep helps your body heal. It’s really the only time your muscles can completely rest and recover. There are a ton of studies linking sleep with healing. They show that, among other things, human growth hormone and melatonin, both of which play a big role in tissue recovery and immunity, are produced during sleep.

So if you’re not getting good sleep-whether it’s due to pain, anxiety, fear or whatever-you’re not giving your muscles, especially your back muscles, time to rejuvenate themselves for the next day’s activities.

(Source) American Chronicle

a

Contrary to what people believe that shorter sleep is good for the body since it allows us to burn more calories, we tend to make up for it by digesting food to serve as energy sources of our body. But while you are satisfying one aspect of the picture, do remember that you are also putting another area at risk which is the overall health of our bodies.

(Source) AFP

a

We all know that taking in various food intakes may eventually contribute towards our hard times of being able to sleep and based on a study on walnuts, its monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats have been found to be the healthful properties contributing to allow people to sleep safer.

Walnuts have a number of healthful properties. They contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats to help your cholesterol levels. There also seems to be an element of truth to the idea that walnuts can help you go to sleep. Walnuts have a substance similar to the body’s melatonin, which is a hormone involved in inducing and regulating sleep. A “dose” of walnuts could be 4 to 5 halves, equal to about 100 calories. It might be worth 100 calories if it helps you sleep, and it certainly would be a more healthful snack choice than chips, cheese puffs or candy.

Source: Walnuts can help you sleep

a