lose weight while you sleep
TRANSCRIPT
Lose Weight While You Sleep
Terry Shintani, MD, JD, MPH, KSJ
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NATURAL FAT BURNING FACTOR
THE QUALITY OF YOUR SLEEP
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Now, before you turn down the covers, fluff up your pillows, and prepare to snore your way to a healthy weight, there’s something you need to know about sleep and weight. Getting the right amount and the right kind of sleep is just as important as getting the right kind and the right amount of food.
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Too much sleep will sabotage your weight-loss efforts.
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Defining Terms
• From childhood, most of us are taught that 8 hours constitutes a ‘good night’s sleep.
• Pregnancy and illness increase the need for sleep, as well.
• In adulthood, however, 8 hours is generally too much sleep.
• As for middle-agers, most feel and function best sleeping somewhere between 5 and 7 hours each night.
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If you’re someone who’s tired all the time, it may be hard for you to imagine that you could need less sleep than you’re getting. However the problem may be with the quality of your sleep, not the quantity.
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Sleep Depression
• Sleeping too much may be a symptom of depression, but too much sleep can also contribute to depression.
• It lowers energy levels and reduces motivation, and that makes it hard to establish and maintain good diet and exercise habits.
• Because sleep can cause depression, it is referred to as “depressogenic.”
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• You don’t have to be clinically depressed to benefit from a decrease in sleeping hours. Studies have reported an elevation of mood in ‘normal’ subjects who sleep less, too.
• If you can consciously manipulate your sleeping behavior, you’ll be able to elevate your mood and, in turn, lower your weight!
• Using sleep to fight off depression and shore up your emotional coping skills may help take weight off and keep weight off.
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Depression Weight Gain
• The 69 women involved in the study, didn’t just consume more calories…they got those calories from high-fat, high-calorie food.
• In other words, due to stress and depression, the woman who had been engaging in healthy eating patterns regressed and began eating more high-fat, high-calorie foods as a way of coping with their feelings.
• Once answer is to incorporate mood-management techniques into your weight loss program to help prevent the weight regain that can occur as a result of unhealthy coping behaviors such as over-eating.
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JUST ENOUGH SLEEP
• Even patients who believe that lack of sleep is central to the cause of their depression have benefitted dramatically benefited.
• The effect on mood is more profound that going to sleep early.
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The Sleep/Mood Connection
There are four important mechanisms that connect sleep and
mood.
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The Serotonin Connection (Calming Sleep)
Serotonin is a chemical messenger (neurotransmitter) in the body. Serotonin is assoociated with calmness, elevated mood…and sleep.
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The REM Connection (Quality Sleep)
‘REM Sleep’ gets its name from the rapid eye movements that occur during good quality restful sleep. When you have more REM sleep, the quality of your rest is better and you need less sleep in order to feel rested and alert.
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The Exercise Connection (Natural Sleep)
Regular exercise will naturally cause your body to want to rest….unless it is done too close to bedtime. Exercise has been found to increase hormone activities in the body that are associated with an improved mood. There also appears to be a link between increased exercise and the body’s increased sensitivity to serotonin.
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The Sunshine Connection (Happy Sleep)
Many people complain of the ‘winter blues’ -- fatigue, lowered motivation, sleepiness, fatigue, increased appetite, weight gain, irritability, and decreased sociability. Some people experience benefits within days.
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• High carbohydrate intakes have been found to improve the moods of people, particularly athletes, who are known to eat very high-carbohydrate, near-vegetarian, diets. And people following a high-carbohydrate diet also report less time spent sleeping, more restful sleep, and an increase in dream activity.
• Eating carbohydrates helps to naturally increase tryptophan levels in the brain. Furthermore, studies show that when a diet that is high in carbohydrate is consumed, REM sleep is increased.
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• A high-carbohydrate diet supplies the ideal fuel for exercise and physical activity. Serious endurance athletes have long known the benefits that come from loading up on carbohydrates…the right carbohydrates.
• Atkins, South Beach, Protein Power and other of-the-moment weight-loss programs recommend 10% or less of calories from brain-fueling carbohydrates.
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What’s Right For YOU• The “right amount” of sleep for you will be determined by
trial and error…literally!• Your first step is to cut 1 to 2 hours off your allotted time to
sleep. Don’t be surprised if your body rebels a bit.• Most people sleep away these valuable hours just after
dawn, missing the added benefits of ultraviolet light for their mental health.
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9 Simple Things You Can Do To Get Just The Sleep You Need
• Take an afternoon stroll – An afternoon or early evening walk promotes digestion, so your body will be able to sleep when night falls.
• Turn down the lights - In the presence of less light, the brain produces more melatonin, a hormone that has been proven to help you feel sleepier, fall asleep faster, and make you sleep longer. You can use room darkening shades or put on a sleeping mask.
• Block the noise – Noise – from honking cars to twittering birds – can affect the quality of your sleep…even if you are not consciously aware of it. One solution is earplugs. If they make you feel too cut off, white noise or soothing music are helpful when you need to block out distracting sounds.
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• Get comfy – Tossing and turning all night does not make for a good night’s sleep. It’s important that you’re sleeping on a good mattress and that the pillows are giving your neck the right amount of support.
• Keep your cool - Sleep in a cool room (60 degrees or so). You’ll sleep better if you pile on another blanket rather than turn up the heat.
• Limit your activities in the bedroom – Watching television, doing work, and especially eating are inappropriate behaviors for the bedroom. There are only two things you should be doing there…and one of them is sleeping.
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• Go bananas or go nuts. Bananas are practically a sleeping pill in a peel. In addition to a bit of soothing melatonin and serotonin, bananas contain magnesium, a muscle relaxant.
• Develop a pre-bedtime routine. Do the same thing every night before going to sleep. For example, take a warm bath and then read for 10 minutes. In a matter of days, you'll connect these activities with sleeping, and doing them will help make you sleepy.
• Don't nap during the day. If you have trouble getting to sleep or staying asleep, a nap will probably make the situation worse. On days when you feel especially fatigued, go to sleep an hour earlier rather than taking a nap.
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