Study: Sleep deprivation leads to weight gain

 

"When people were sleep deprived, they ate an extra 549 calories per day," says researcher Andrew Calvin, MD, MPH, a fellow in cardiovascular disease and assistant professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester.

How true is that?

Calvin held a study on 17 men and women, ages 18 to 40, for a total of eight days at a sleep lab. They were each randomly assigned to sleep as much as they wanted or to sleep only two-thirds of their normal sleep time.

Everyone has access to as much food as they wanted. Food intake was logged.

While the sleep-deprived group ate the extra 549 calories daily, the comparison group actually ate about 143 fewer calories daily than usual.

The researchers tracked how active each group was. But they didn't find much difference in activity expenditure between both groups.

Sleep deprivation was linked with somewhat levels of leptin, the hormone that tells your brain you are full. 

It is linked to somewhat lower levels of ghrelin, the hormone that tells your brain you are hungry. The findings found the leptin levels went up and the ghrelin levels went down in the sleep-deprived group.

When this study was compared with previous findings, it was found to be consistently pointing that there are possible links of sleep deprivation to increase intake of calories.

This could be the contributing factor to the alarming rate of obesity rate increasing in the city as people continue to face stress and have poor lifestyle that leads to sleeplessness.

Have you noticed that your weight have been fluctuating for the past 3 months?

If yes, do seek help today. With proper monitoring of diet and lifestyle, there is a possibility of maintaining a good body shape and weight without having to lose weight artificially.

Leave a comment if you find that this article helps you.

Read also:                  
Sleeplessness: How does it affect you?
Sleep routines that HELP you sleep better
Sleep deprivation will lead to TYPE 2 diabetes

Opt-in to my mailing list and get in touch with me for a wellness screening to better understand the condition of your body which may be affecting your quality of sleep every day.

I wish you a good night's sleep,

 

Top reasons to cut down on your salt intake

Singaporeans are consuming more salt than they should and Minister of State for health said the findings of the survey were "a cause for concern". In general, men were found to consume about 9.6g a day, while women consumed about 7.1g a day which is more than 60 per cent above the recommended level of 5g a day for adults. This is particularly important in Singapore, because "6 in 10 people actually eat out at least four times a week".

Could cutting salt intake reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety and insomnia?

A low salt diet may improve conditions such as anxiety, irritability, depression, fatigue and migraine headache the findings of an investigation of a low salt diet for “insomnia and tension states” was published in the Journal of the American Association in 1945 (1). Patients with “pronounced insomnia, nervous tension, anxiety and increased emotional liability” were instructed to follow a low salt diet with striking results.

After just four to seven days of the low salt diet the “majority of patients began to exhibit a gradual decline in nervous tension, activity drive and restlessness, accompanied by an increased ability to fall asleep and general improvement in the character of sleep.

It was noted that subjects “tended to retire at an earlier hour, usually falling asleep within ten to fifteen minutes and sleeping soundly until wakened at 6am.” Over a period of weeks the low salt diet also improved blood pressure, brain wave activity and concentration while reducing emotional reactivity and vivid dreaming.

What action can YOU take?

1. Start from the food that you eat- excess salt and sugar damage the blood vessels, leading to decreased blood flow. Excess saturated fat and trans fat can clog veins and arteries and impede circulation. In order to improve poor blood circulation, avoid canned foods and deep-fried foods, which often contain trans fats. When your circulation improves, the quality of your sleep will improve.
2. Exercise- to get rid of toxins and calories by sweating and thereby eliminating salt.
3. Drink plenty of water- removes the toxins by flushing it out of the body.

References:

Miller, M. Low sodium chloride intake in the treatment of insomnia and tension states. JAMA. 1945. 129; 4: 262-266.

Read also:
                  Sleeplessness: How does it affect you?
                  Sleep routines that HELP you sleep better
                  Sleep deprivation will lead to TYPE 2 diabetes

Opt-in to my mailing list and get in touch with me for a wellness screening to better understand the condition of your body which may be affecting your quality of sleep every day. 

Insomnia treatment- Instant stress relief!

In my previous articles, most of you would have identified some of the symptoms you may be facing. The most common symptom generally felt by many is feeling fatigue the first thing in the morning. Coffee seems to be the only beverage that seems to be working, but the number of cups seems to be increasing as one cup does not seem to be enough to keep you energetic anymore.

Are people doing anything to increase their quality sleep hours instead of doing something to increase their wake hours?

The mind has a great influence over the energetic body because it plays a significant part in the health of our energy body. It can either work for us, helping to balance the energy flow and bringing about good health, or it can work against us, causing disruptions and diminishing our overall health.

Conditions such as insomnia indicate that the body is struggling and that there are energetic imbalances, which will require time and effort to put right.

I have been searching for a method which can help give you instant stress relief when you can feel a knot at your forehead. Here is a tip which you may find useful:

Focus on two very effective stress-releasing points, on your forehead about 2.5 cm (1 inch) up from the center of your eyebrows. Do it consciously and direct your energy here when your mind refuses to relax down, or when you are unable to sleep, despite your body and mind being exhausted. 

Increased clarity

Holding your stress-releasing points for a minute or two can bring tremendous relief from the turmoil of the mind. Use them whenever tensions are building, when you feel the need for increased clarity, or when you think your inability to sleep is due to stress and anxiety.

• Gently place your thumb and index or middle finder in position to induce calm.
•  After a while, you will probably notice that your breathing deepens and flows more freely and that your mind is clearer as your thoughts become less congested.

      Use these methods when you are having a rough time during school or at work. If it works for you, teach others how to do it.

If you realized that this mini exercise is not helpful, your sleep condition could be more serious. 

To accurately find out your health status and the underlying reasons which are disrupting your sleep, opt-in to my mailing list and get in touch with me for a wellness screening to better understand the condition of your body which may be affecting your quality of sleep every day.