Studies suggest that people who sleep fewer than six hours per night gain almost twice as much weight over a 6-year period as people who sleep 7-8 hours per night. Why?
- decrease in satiety hormones, increase in hunger hormones
- altered glucose tolerance, insulin resistance & diabetes
- inflammation
- obesity
- disruption of cortisol levels and rhythm
- decrease in testosterone and increase in estrogen
- loss of lean mass, including muscle, bone and organs
- decrease in thyroid stimulating hormone
- heart attack
- stroke
Wow!!
So why don't we get enough sleep? Is it because we are so busy, or that our brains are still processing, or is is it more of just staying awake because you want to despite how tired you are. Maybe you're just mindlessly scrolling through Facebook, or catching a TV show. Solving that problem can help you lead to better and more sleep.
So now we all know that it's important for our health, however, I think many underestimate how much sleep can affect everything in your body from brain activity to hormone levels or think that we can get away with little sleep. It is just as important as exercise and nutrition. Earlier in the week, we posted about setting a routine when you go to bed.
This includes set up your room so that you can get a quality nights rest.
Here are a few good tips include:
- Turning off the TV, phone.
- Making sure its dark enough
- Cutting out the caffeine
- Stretching
- Setting a Bedtime
- Temperature( I know I like it where its not too hot or too cold)
Either way, creating a game plan will make a world of difference in the quality and quantity of your sleep. Just like nutrition, you need to set up habits to be successful, and it is no different when it comes to sleep.
Take control of your sleep environment and behavior and see how successful you are.
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