In 2014 a USA survey (TheSleep Health Index) found 45% of Americans reported that poor or
insufficient sleep had affected their daily activities at least once in the
previous 7 days. 35% of Americans reported “poor” or “only fair” sleep quality.
67% of the people with less than good sleep quality also reported “poor” or
“only fair” health quality. High stress and low life satisfaction were also
related to poor sleep quality.
There is a substantial body of research pointing to lack of
sleep as a risk factor in the development of obesity, diabetes and general
metabolic disorders (3,
4, 5, 6, 7).
Habitual short
sleep has been associated with increased body mass index (BMI) in large
population samples (8).
Sleep debt leads to sleep patterns generally associated with ageing and
sometimes with depression, and is likely to increase severity of depression and
risk of obesity and chronic age-related disorders (8).
Short sleep over
time is also associated with higher mortality levels (7).
Lack of sleep leads to a decrease of ghrelin in the body
leading to increased feelings of hunger (9) and desire for fatty
foods.
In one study lack of sleep led to eating as much as 300 calories extra
with people choosing snacks with around 50% more calories and twice the fat of snacks
chosen by people who had enough sleep (7).
This
same study suggested that besides increasing hunger and the desire for high
calorie, fatty foods and reducing your ability to control your response to
food, lack of sleep may also increase your hedonic drive for these foods.
In one small study having 5.5 hours sleep lead to up 55%
less weight being lost as fat and increased the loss of fat free body mass by
60% compared to having 8.5 hours sleep (1).
There is also increasing recognition of a link between diet
and the quality of sleep (8).
A 2016 study found that a single day of a high fat and high sugar diet
disturbed sleep. Participants took longer to fall asleep and then had less slow
wave sleep which is associated with good sleep quality. Conversely a high
fibre, low fat and sugar diet was associated with falling asleep faster and
with more slow wave sleep (9).
Psychosocial (work and life) stress can lead to poor sleep
in quality and duration (10), and
insufficient and poor sleep is associated with weight gain( 11), so sleep,
diet and stress are interrelated.
By understanding that sleep, diet and stress are
interwoven we can work to address them all at once, by eating a healthier diet,
taking steps to get better sleep and deploying tactics to reduce stress in
everyday life.
Here's some science based tips to get a better night’s sleep:
Limit the amount of
alcohol you drink
Although alcohol consumption may help you fall asleep faster,
alcohol can disturb your REM cycle making you toss and turn, when you should be
in your deepest sleep (12).
Exercise
Exercise has long been associated with better sleep (13) . You may need to
exercise consistently for up to 4 months for the full beneficial effects to
kick in, especially if you have chronic sleep problems (14), although some
studies have found modest sleep improvements after a single day of exercise (15).
I have seen some claims that you shouldn’t exercise just
before bedtime, but found one study that contradicted that with young adults
experiencing improved sleep after exercising just before bed (16).
In a survey of over 34,000 people in North America, 55% of
people who practiced yoga reported better sleep, and 85% reported it reduced
stress. 19.
Various studies suggest yoga improves sleep quality and duration (20, 21, 22).
Cut the caffeine hit
6 hours before bedtime
Studies have shown that a cup of coffee up to 6 hours before
bedtime has a significant effect on sleep disturbance. (17). In one study
caffeine was found to decrease total sleep time by up to 2 hours, increase
wakefulness and significantly disturb sleep quality (18).
Less screen time before bed
Technology use (TV watching, cell phone use, video gaming,
listening to music, social networking and telephone use) at bedtime is associated with significant
adverse effects on a whole range of sleep parameters according to a UK study(18).
Exposure to short wave blue light, such as we get from our
tablets and mobile devices has been shown to significantly reduce the duration
of sleep and disrupt the continuity of sleep (18). In one
study exposure to a strong blue light before sleeping lead to an average of 7.6
awakenings compared to a normal average of 4.5 awakenings (19).
Interactive screen time (cell phones, games consoles,
laptops as oppose to TVs) in the hour before bed is associated with more
difficulties falling asleep and with unrefreshing sleep (20). The same survey
reported that 9 out of 10 Americans used a technological device in the hour
before bed, although under 30 were more likely to be using interactive
technology.
Using a red filter over your screen can reduce the effect of
the short wave blue light, but of course cannot change your unconscious
responses to interactive technology.
Keep to a sleeping routine
Disruptions to the natural circadian rhythm of the body
which regulates waking and sleeping times are interrelated with sleep deprivation,
obesity, diabetes and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (21, 22, 23).
The work and social commitments associated with our modern
lives mean during a working week we often wake before the end of our circadian
sleep rhythm is reached and generally do not fall asleep until after the window
opens in the evening leading to a “social jetlag”. This restricted sleep means
we may sleep for longer at weekends/ non-work days (23).
This social jetlag is associated with increasing BMI (24).
One New Zealand study found that even a 2 hour difference between weekday and
weekend sleeping schedules was associated with higher BMI, in comparison to
people with no social jetlag (25).
By keeping to routine sleeping schedules which allow enough
sleeping time every day it should be possible to minimise or eliminate this
social jetlag effect and thereby reduce or remove the chance of any associated
weight gain.
Exposure to natural morning light for 45 minutes in the
morning for 3 weeks resulted in reduced body fat and appetite for a study group
of obese women, and that wasn’t related to differences in photoperiod (25).
In another study exposure to bright lights for a group of obese women lead to
reductions in body mass index (26).
Morning light exposure was found to have significant effects on ghrelin and
leptin levels which associated with appetite and hunger, especially for sleep
deprived individuals (27).
So make sure you get out into natural light for as long as
possible every morning. You do need to be directly in natural light, not behind
glass.
Limiting light exposure before bedtime and during the
sleeping cycle is also important for good sleep and for the circadian cycle (28).
Meditation
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