Sleep more to weigh less

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could sleep your way thin? Don’t laugh, but many recent studies suggest that it just might be possible. Now before you quit your job, blackout your windows and send the kids packing for grandma’s for a month, let me explain. The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7-9 hours a night as an optimal amount of sleep. Over the last 100 years the average nights sleep for 30% of American adults has dropped to only 6 hours per night. Ironically the increase in obesity in the U.S. has paralleled this reduction in sleep. So what’s the connection? Well, first sleep is responsible for many appetite and weight controlling hormones such as growth hormone, leptin, phrelin, ghrelin and cortisol. Next, a study done by Columbia University discovered that sleep deprived adults ate almost 300 more calories per day than their well rested counterparts. At that rate a person overeating 300 calories a day stands to gain almost 31.25 pounds in just 1 year! Finally, a 6 year study done in Quebec showed that short term sleepers (5-6 hours per night) gained an average of 4.4 pounds during the study than those who got an average nights sleep (7-8 hours per night). Short term sleepers also were 35% more likely to gain 12 pounds over the 6 years and had a 27% increased risk for developing obesity. Oddly enough adjustments for calorie intake and physical activity did not affect these connections. This means that all your hard work in the gym and the kitchen can be thrown away if you don’t get enough sleep. Steps to improve your sleep: 1.Stick to a regular bedtimern2.Avoid alcohol at bedtimern3.Keep the temperature in the bedroom at 70 degrees or coolerrn4.Turn off the T.V. when you are trying to sleep.rnIf these tips don’t work for you see your doctor and have a sleep study done to find out if there is a bigger reason for you lack of sleep. Evan RosenthalrnOwner Custom Fitness Inc. ACE Certified Personal Trainer www.modernworld-nutrition.com www.customfitnesssolutions.comrn