29: The caloric value of the sweet sleep
Sleep is a very, very important component of healthy nutrition. Poor quality sleep, short sleep, giving up on sleep to have more time on some other tasks - all of these are great helpers of obesity. Did I mention that sleep is essential for healthy nutrition?
?The more time you spend not sleeping, the more time you can eat, consciously and unconsciously. I will quote no sources here.
?The less you sleep, the higher levels of ghrelin (this is a hormone responsible for the sense of hunger) and the lower levels of leptin (the satiety hormone). In addition (because of that?) we have more acute feelings of hunger and appetite (1), and this effect can be experienced already after one night of insomnia due to stress (2, 3).
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This hormonal imbalance may have some noticeable consequences - poor sleep quality and lack of sleep are associated with a decrease in glucose tolerance and a decrease in insulin sensitivity (which means the processing of sweet food is disrupted). During evenings levels of cortisol increase (this is related to stressful experiences, or maybe we start getting nervous ahead of time?), and in the longer term risk of obesity increases (4).
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Leptin and insulin are both responsible for the sense of satiety; they participate in the body's sympathetic reactions (the ones that are active and vigilant states, not resting and digesting). Until we sleep, we do not rest (or at least not the way we rest during sleep). At the same time, leptin and insulin are responsible for the decrease of senses of pleasure and reward after we eat. So, if we sum everything up, if we sleep too little, we "wear off" the sense of pleasure after we eat, and still want to get the pleasure - and compensate for this need by eating more (perhaps after this spoon the pleasure will come) (5).
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Sweet dreams.
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#spoonfulofreason #psychology #sleep #weight
Photo: Quin Stevenson on Unsplash
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Links:
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1. Brief Communication: Sleep Curtailment in Healthy Young Men Is Associated with Decreased Leptin Levels, Elevated Ghrelin Levels, and Increased Hunger and Appetite:
2. A single night of sleep deprivation increases ghrelin levels and feelings of hunger in normal-weight healthy men:
3. Leptin and hunger levels in young healthy adults after one night of sleep loss:
4. Sleep and obesity: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3632337/
5. Insulin, Leptin and Reward: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2822063/
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My name is Monika, I am a health and nutrition psychologist. I help to deal with daily and difficult questions about behaviour, thinking, and emotions. I write, give lectures, and provide psychological counselling. Book my session here:
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8 个月Hi Monika, Thank you for sharing your post about the importance of sleep for healthy nutrition. I completely agree with you that sleep plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy weight. In fact, poor quality sleep and lack of sleep have been linked to obesity and weight gain. One thing that I would like to add is that quality of sleep is just as important as quantity. It's not just about getting 8 hours of sleep, but also ensuring that you have a good sleep environment and following a bedtime routine to improve sleep quality. I also appreciate you mentioning the impact of giving up sleep to do other tasks. As a society, we often prioritize productivity over rest, but this can have negative consequences on our health in the long run. Thank you again for highlighting the importance of sleep in maintaining a healthy weight.