Weight And Sleep

[Meg]

I posted an interesting article - Why Lost Sleep Affects Weight Gain - in the 3FC Library Forum that you might want to check out: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/show...607#post728607 Basically it talks about research that shows that there's a correlation between obesity and not getting enough sleep. All the talk about sleep and weight loss is fascinating to me because I've suspected there's a connection for a while.

For me, my worst eating times happen when I'm tired. I'm not sure if I misread the tired cue as hunger, if tiredness makes me hungrier, if I want to eat for an energy boost when I'm tired, or if tired simply = no willpower. But there's no doubt that I'm most likely to run into trouble with food if I haven't had a good night sleep the night before. So all the research into hormone levels is really intriguing.

I'm curious about the rest of you - have you noticed a connection between sleep and weight loss (or gain)?

Last night I told DH that I was going to bed early to fight obesity. I got eight hours of sleep for the first time in ages and have to say that I feel like a million dollars today. Hmmmm ......

[silverbirch]

Very quick post to say that things have really improved since I prioritised sleep. I'll tell you another day how well things are going here (they are, very) but in the meantime ... Go To Bed Early. You won't regret it.

[Only Me]

Definitely. I didn't get nearly enough sleep for months after my first dd was born. (When she was about 9 months old I though something was really wrong with my right eye because it was twitching all the time. 6 hours of sleep for a couple of nights in a row cleared it up.) Anyway, that was my third pregnancy and the first time I didn't lose most of the pregancy weight without any effort

And last night was a terrible night sleep wise. The wind was gusting to 50km/hr, which always keeps me up. Then baby dd was squriming all around and sleeping really lightly. And dh kept startling awake about every 30-60 minutes, waking up baby dd again. I'd have stopped trying to sleep and gotten up, but then the baby'd wake up too, no doubt waking one of the other kids in the process. So I stayed in bed sleeping fitfully until 2yo dd woke up around 6am.

And now I am fighting the urge to eat every single cookie and chocolate in the house. I even want icecream despite the snowstorm outside. I'm not stomach growling hungry, I just want to eat junk food and a lot of it. I think I'll make a big pot of split pea/veggie soup for lunch.

[Meg]

, Only Me! Soup is an outstanding idea! It's warm and filling and takes a long time to eat ... sometimes the best thing is to plan in a lot of healthy food to eat. It's better than the alternative - lots of unhealthy food. Hope tonight's a better night for you, sleep-wise.

After my second was born, I went through a brain-dead sleep deprivation period too, when I literally couldn't read a calendar or do simple math. My hats off to anyone who works and has little kids - I don't know how you manage to function.

[Mel]

SLEEP???

what's that?

Seriously, I couldn't agree more. I have a condition (fibromyalgia) which prevents me from reaching deep sleep or sometimes any sleep. The unmedicated years, and some of the medications are when I packed on the pounds

If I could have ANYTHING in the world, it would be the ability to fall asleep when my head hit the pillow, and stay that way for 7-8 hours!

Mel

[WaterRat]

Interesting. I seldom sleep more than 6 hours a night, and almost always wake up at least once during the night (and not to pee, just awake). My DH doesn't sleep well at all, an offshoot of his cancer treatments, so takes medication (and boy is that an interesting adventure, finding the right meds/dosages!). He goes to bed by 9:30 most days, and when the meds are adjusted well, gets up ~6:30. I'm usually up til 11, then reading in bed for another 30 minutes or so, and the alarm goes off just after 6 and I'm up by 6:30. Maybe I should allot a little more time to sleeping and see if it helps? I'm not aware of being tired most days, though maybe I am interpreting it as hunger at times? I'm going to try being more aware. Since both my DH and my sister have had long bouts of sleep deprivation, I'm well aware what it can do to you.

[AnneWonders]

I always slept badly when I was obese--probably sleep apnea issues. Even when I did sleep, I would wake up exhausted.

Perhaps I got myself into a constructive spiral with the weight loss?? Lose some weight, sleep better, makes it easier to lose more weight, and sleep better, etc.

[jansan]

Interesting article. Thanks for posting it. I sure sleep better now with 50 pounds gone, and as Anne said, hopefully it will lead to an upward spiral of even more sleep and wl.

For the past couple of weeks since reading another article in the 3fc library about the correlation with sleep and obesity, I've been going to bed much earlier and averaging an hour or two more sleep every night. I do prefer staying up till about 11:30 or later, but as I age, I seem to wake earlier - just like Maw and Paw did. So now the new rule is to be in bed by 9pm or so, and I can read or watch tv for awhile, but I do want to be asleep by 10pm. I can tell the difference by how much better I feel during the day.

Jan

[silverbirch]

Originally Posted by Meg

My hats off to anyone who works and has little kids - I don't know how you manage to function.

Thanks, Meg. Friendly encouragement makes all the difference some days.

Only Me - good luck today. I'll be thinking of you. Soup is an excellent idea. On cold days it reaches all parts of me.

[srmb60]

Since I work nights 7 out 21 days, I've carefully avoided that article. How Freudian is that?

[MrsJim]

I just figure that if I go to bed early, I'll be less likely to eat in front of the teevee.

Maybe that's part of it - I know that 'night eating' is a problem for LOTS of people. I don't want to use the word 'struggle' but I do have to control my urges to snack after work - the way I do it is to stay busy, eat during the day (in my obese days, I would eat pretty much nada during the day, and then after work until bedtime that was my time to 'tie on the feed bag') at regular intervals, and go to bed early (generally before 9 pm).

Of course, since I'm generally awake by 4 am, I'm still shorting myself an hour's worth of sleep, but 8 pm is just WAY too early for this chick to hit the sheets - especially if I have a 5:30 pm riding lesson and a 7 pm Pilates class that night!

[jansan]

I was thinking about just how one can get more, better sleep, and these are some suggestions that have helped me over time:

Go to sleep at more or less the same time every night making sure you give yourself enough time to sleep.

Wear comfortable jammies made from natural fibers.

Have a comfortable and firm mattress

Have comfortable pillows.
Most pillows are too large for me so I shopped for new pillows with small synthetic particle filling, and then divided the filling into two easily scrunchy pillows. When I travel I carry my own pillow.

Have some sort of soft layer between your mattress and bottom sheet. My two favorites are a merino wool mattress pad, or better still is a foam liner about an inch thick that I found at Strouds. Egg crate foam?

Use 100% cotton sheets, they breath better. Very fine silky thread count in winter, more loose weave in summer. Very high thread counts can make for too warm sheets on hot nights. Or you might like flannel sheets in winter.

I also use down comforters, and I have even made a down blanket for warmer nights.

If you sleep with pets that move around at night and wake you, you might wish to banish the little dears to a room of their own. Fortunately current 2 cats are sound sleepers, but my former ones werent.

If you tend to wake up with the sniffles or a light cough, make sure you are not allergic to your bedding. Wool and down are animal products that some are allergic to.

I am sure everybody cleans their bedding regularily to keep those little dust mites under control also.

If you wake with the light, put up dark curtains. In the student community of my youth, you could see aluminum foil covering bedroom windows to keep out the light. Perhaps covering a piece of cardboard and placing that in the window opening and removing it in the morning. (whatever works)

If you can drink dairy, a traditional sleep aid is warm milk before bed for the calcium. I wonder if a calcium pill in the evening would work just as well.

Also reading before bed, or some tv or music, or???

The more weight you lose, be better you will sleep too.

And finally, relax about the whole process. The more anxious you are to get more sleep, the less you will get. Constuct a sleep situation that will allow for more sleep, but if it doenst happen, that's all you can do.

If anyone has any other suggestions that work for better, longer sleep, send them along.

Jan