Cebu City – Did you know that there is a nutritional aspect in sleep? It’s a fact that nutrition and sleep play a big and fundamental role in our health, and what you may not know is that sleep has its role in helping maintain optimal nutrition and will affect your weight. Multiple studies have been done on the health effects of sleep or lack of it.
Lack of sleep have been linked with appetite. According to the Sleep Foundation, people who don’t get enough sleep or who frequently are sleep deprived are more likely to increase their food intake and food consumption, have the tendency to select high-calorie food with less nutrient-dense food choices which in turn pose a greater risk of weight gain (sleepfoundation.org).
Sleep is essential for our body to function well. It helps our body to rest and recover. Lack of sleep will not only give you the feeling of fatigue or lethargy the next day, but it affects your dietary habits too. Two hormones are altered - ghrelin and leptin if you are sleep-deprived. Ghrelin is the hormone responsible to stimulate hunger, and leptin is responsible that stimulates satiety or fullness. When a person is sleep deprived, studies have shown that there is increased levels of ghrelin (hunger hormone) and decreased levels of leptin (satiety hormone). This makes the tendency to overeat.
For adults, according to Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, getting less than seven hours of sleep a night on a regular basis has been linked with poor health, including weight gain, having a body mass index of 30 or higher, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and depression.
Although the amount of sleep you get each day is important, other aspects of your sleep also contribute to your health and well-being. Good sleep quality is also essential. Here are some simple steps to encourage better sleep:
Follow a sleep schedule. Go to bed and get up at the same time everyday. If you can’t sleep within about 20 minutes, go out of your bedroom and do something relaxing such as listening to soothing music. Then go back to your room when you are tired.
Be conscious of what you eat and drink. Do not go to bed hungry or full. Watch out for nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol as they may affect the quality of your sleep.
Make a restful environment. Set-up a cool, dark and quite room that is ideal for sleeping. Minimize exposure to light-emitting screens before resting. Take a bath or using relaxation techniques for better sleep.
Minimize daytime naps. Long naps at daytime naps can interfere with nighttime sleep. If you choose to nap, limit yourself to up to 30 minutes and avoid doing so late in the day.
Add physical activity in your daily routine. Regular exercise or other form of physical activity can facilitate better sleep. Minimize activity close to bedtime too.
If you have sleeping problem, do not hesitate to talk to your doctor. There might be underlying problem that needs to be resolved. // NO I Gab Flores, RND
