Weigh Wise: SLEEP LESS - WEIGH MORE 8 !

Americans are sleeping less than they used to and this could be part of the reason that more of us are now overweight. Our snooze time over the past 40 years has decreased by one to two hours a night. And researchers are discovering that too little sleep affects hormones that regulate satiety, hunger and how efficiently you burn calories. Too little sleep may make you hungry, especially for calorie dense foods, and may help your body hold onto each and every calorie. It may also increase your insulin levels, which increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
How and why you become overweight is a straight nights. Their resulting lab work complex issue. Research is suggesting that showed that their blood glucose levels lack of sleep may contribute increased to a nearly pre-diabetic to the epidemic of obesity. state; giving these young men the Sleep deprivation In a study done at Columbia insulin sensitivity of 70 or 80 year causes the University in New York olds. hormone levels of researchers found that Leptin (which people who slept six hours a WE ARE NOT WIRED signals the brain night were 23 percent more BIOLOGICALLY FOR SLEEP to stop eating) to likely to be obese than those DEPRIVATION. be lower--SO YOU who slept between seven and nine hours a night. The NEVER FEEL HERE ARE SOME SLEEP HYGIENE ones who slept 5 hours a RULES: SATISFIED OR night were 50 percent more 1.Have a pre-bed ritual that FULL. It also likely--and those who slept doesnt include watching TV or makes the four hours or less were 73 being on the computer. hormone levels of percent more likely--to be --try reading, taking a warm bath ghrelin (which obese. or practicing some yoga. causes you to feel 2.Do not drink alcohol to help you hunger) to be Not sleeping enough sleep. It may help you get to higher--SO YOUR (enough sleep = seven to sleep, but it will also cause APPETITE nine hours a night) also interrupted sleep in the middle of INCREASES. The affects insulin resistance and the night. result is that you blood glucose levels. In a 3.Stop your uid intake early in EAT MORE which study done at the University the evening to help decrease or can lead to of Chicago, 11 healthy men prevent several trips to the gaining weight. in their 20s were limited to 4 bathroom in the middle of the hours of sleep for six night.
Vol. 1, No. 8 www.danceoutdiabetes.org 1-877-765-4386 By Michelle Barth, MS, RD, CDE