The amount of sleep we need stays the same throughout our entire adult lives. From when we’re in our 20s until we’re dead we need 7-8 hours of sleep a night. At least 7.
If you don’t get enough sleep you’re really doing your body a huge disservice. According to a study from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln the less you sleep directly impacts how much you eat.
Fluff Your Pillow
Sleep deprivation leads to overeating because the hormones that control appetite become altered. In the Journal of Health Psychology, the researchers point out that there is a range of factors that come together to cause a person to overeat when they’ve missed sleep.
Ghrelin – the “hunger hormone” which stimulates your appetite – levels rise. Levels of leptin, the hormone that tells the brain when fat cells are full, decrease. And, when tired, people are under greater emotional stress and are more impulsive, which leads to a harder time resisting tempting food. There’s also a general lack of energy that people try to satisfy with sugary foods.
The 6 Simple Steps To Sleeping More Sweetly
- Take note of your lifestyle, habits, and medical conditions. Medications and medical problems can alter your sleep. As we get older, we are more prone to certain problems. Talk to a doctor to ask whether you suffer from sleep apnea, sleep phase disorder, periodic limb disorder, or restless leg syndrome.
- Develop a good regimen: go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day.This gets your body into a good sleep routine which it will fall into naturally. Also, avoid taking long naps during the day.
- Avoid stimulating foods and beverages like coffee, caffeinated teas, alcohol, spicy or sugary foods 6 hours before bedtime. Avoid them all day if you can.
Tip: Daily exercise helps. It will invigorate you as well as tire you. You’ll get better sleep as long as you don’t exercise within 3 hours of bedtime.
- Avoid heavy meals: particularly 3 hours before bedtime. Before bed, eat a light snack, something high in protein and low in sugar. It takes your body a longer time to break proteins down, and high-sugar will just jazz you up.
- Take a warm bath before bed. This will calm your muscles and induce sleep. It also gives your mind a chance to take in the day and wind down. If coupled with deep breathing and calming music, you’ll be on your way to Dream Town in no time.
- If you find yourself in bed still searching for sleep after having tried all of these the best idea is to get out of bed. Just for a short while, while doing some quiet activity – something that doesn’t take too much energy, and isn’t very invigorating, but not just sitting and watching TV. You’ve got to unload the dishwasher, or sweep the floor. A quiet activity that stimulates your brain.
Now crawl into bed and be ready for a better tomorrow. You’ll be sleeping better, you’ll have better energy, and you won’t be nearly as likely to reach for “extra energy” in the form of sugary foods. Hence, you will be less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and the other ailments that have been linked to high-sugar diets.
