Sleep and Weight Connection
 

This little gem was in my in-box this morning. I know we've been hearing this for a while, but this little video is definitely worth the 4 minutes it takes to watch it . . . http://www.everydayhealth.com/Public...betes_20080427

I definitely spend enough hours in bed but have to get up every three or so to 'tinkle' and so I think my quality (deepness) of sleep is not the greatest. What kind of sleep experiences do you have?

I couldn't get the video to play and I'm too sleepy to try. lol. But I read the transcript. I heard something similar in the news a few weeks ago. My sleep habits are absolutely rotten. I go to be too late and some days get up too late because I went to bed too late. There's the cycle I have to break. I used to sleep like a baby when younger. Then I had children and anyone with children knows what happens to sleep patterns when you have kids. But I noticed a real difference in my sleep pattern a few years ago when my nephew was killed in a car accident. I must have spent the whole summer up at night with my sister and her family. Just as I was getting back to normal menopause with hot flashes and night sweats cut in and now mom is with me and she keeps me up at night. And when mom doesn't keep me up I don't sleep like I should. OK, tonight I'm going to bed before tomorrow morning.

I know what you mean . . . at times I get myself into a really bad cycle where I'll nap in the afternoon (because I didn't sleep well the night before) and then, of course, I can't sleep the following night . . . and so on, and so on, and so on. Unfortuntely you have others who are helping your bad patterns -- I hve nobody to blame but myself (and occasionally the cats.) :shrug:

i haven't slept well in months, actually years. Ever since menopause hit. hot cold, twist,turn, get up to go pee, Its been a hassle, and the only time I sleep is when I'm finally exhausted. Tonight I'm going to try breathing lavendar scent sprinkled on my pillow

I :love: lavendar and have one of those little plug in scent machines in my bedroom . . . don't know if it helps with the sleep . . . but it is pleasant as you lie there sweating and freezing and tossing and turning. :lol:

meowee>:lol:

I've heard this theory for months. I don't think it has a lot of validity. No one gets less sleep than I. I work from 7:30 at night until 6:30 in the morning, trying to sleep in the daytime around here is no picnic, and on my days off I work on my projects and I'm still losing weight.:carrot:

The sleep deprivation/weight gain research is compelling to me, but that doesn't mean that all sleep deprived people are fat, or that any sleep deprived overweight person can't lose weight.

When I was first diagnosed with sleep-apnea, I was very, very busy at work, and dieting was just not a priority. I was given a CPAP and medication to improve my sleep quality, and without trying or doing anything else differently, I did lose several pounds (I believe about 10 lbs). My pulmonologist told me that it's fairly common for people to lose a few pounds after being prescribed the CPAP.

Still, even if sleep does affect weight loss, it's only one of thousands of other variables. No one is going to lose 100 lbs by getting more sleep (unless they're sleeping 24 hours a day and therefore not eating).

I'm not 50+ but have had sleep issues for as long as I can remember. I couldn't view the video either but know there is a strong sleep/cortisol/weight connection.