I was reading (another) interesting article the other day.
It was about how a bad nights sleep affects your blood sugar levels, appetite and ultimately your weight.
They monitored a group of people and make them stay up 3 hours later than their usual sleeping time.
One participant said he was so hungry the next day he had 10 custard creams for breakfast!
Post bad sleep blood sugar levels rose dramatically and hunger levels also increased a lot.
After a couple of nights of good sleep these levels went back to normal then.
Some people’s blood sugar levels rose so much, coupled with a bit of a sugar binge as a result had levels close to that of a type ll diabetic!! That’s insulane!
Why does this happen?
If we call a good night’s sleep 7 hours. Anything less bad.
A bad night’s sleep throws your hormones completely out of sync. Ghrelin, leptin and cortisol are some of the main ones affected. Increased cortisol levels are often as a result of stress, weight loss is extremely tough in the presence of this. The others affect your appetitie (feeling full and feeling hungry).
How many of you reach for the biscuit tin on a tired day for an ‘energy boost’?
Your sleep is such an important and often ignored part of a healthy lifestyle.
Any weight loss or fitness improvement attempts are so much more difficult without adequate sleep.
But good exercise and good nutrition helps sleep naturally.
If you want to be fuelled by exercise and healthy foods rather than custard creams go here:
You still awake?
Jamie Stedman