Yesterday morning I heard a tid bit on the radio saying that researchers had found that people were more likely to be obese if they drank five or more cups of coffee a day.
My fleeting thought was that people who have time to drink five or more cups of coffee a day probably spend a lot of time sitting down and possibly a sedentary lifestyle could be more the problem than the coffee itself.
This morning I went looking for more information and found that this study has been done using mice. It's funny how the news media take pieces of information and run with them, twisting the words to mean something that they possibly shouldn't.
However, it did get me thinking about sleep.
I used to be a night owl. When I started exercising more and eating really well I started finding that I was ready to pass out by 9.30 each night. Slowly but surely my sleeping habits changed and I am now more of an early to bed, early to rise type. I don't think it's an 'early' wake up unless it's before 5.30am.
By 10pm I am ready to crawl in to bed, if I'm not there already, and most nights I am out like a light not long after my head hits the pillow. Usually it doesn't take much effort to turn off.
There are all sorts of studies and research in to sleep how much you need, how much is ideal, links to weight loss, etc etc and while I am certainly no sleep expert I can tell you what I know both from experience and commonsense.
- It is so much nicer to wake up in the morning ready for your feet to hit the floor, you are much less likely to hit snooze, roll over and pull the covers over your head.
- Morning exercise, whether it's a walk, run, gym session, DVD or circuit in your backyard is the best gift you can give yourself each day. If you are feeling ready to go back to bed when the alarm goes off chances are you are less likely to do it.
- My night owlish ways were in an effort to squeeze more in to each day. I actually achieve more by getting enough sleep because I am more able to concentrate on getting on with my to do list.
- Sleep is essential for your body to repair and reorder itself. Have you ever had that morning after 'hangover' feeling when you didn't actually have any alcohol.
- When you feel tired it is pretty common for your body to crave more energy. The desire for more energy is satiated by carbohydrates so in your tired state you often go in search of the nearest hot chip or piece of cake. This, in itself, isn't a problem once in a while and in suitable portion size but it can become a problem for your waistline if it's happening everyday.
- Not sleeping enough disrupts your bodies normal metabolic and hormonal processes, this can be enough to lead to weight gain or stop you from losing weight if that's what you are trying to do.
- The 'right' amount of sleep is different for everyone. For me to feel well rested I know that I need an average of 7 hours each night.
- If you are having trouble sleeping look at your pre bedtime routine. Don't exercise just before going to bed. I can manage a cup of tea after dinner without affecting my ability to get to sleep but I have to stay away from the dark chocolate.
- Reading, meditating, stretching and sex are all great ways to relax and help you get to sleep without needing to count sheep. I guess the relaxing after effect of sex cancels out the raised heart rate component? ;)
- Not getting enough sleep makes you snappy and irritable and let's face it, nobody wants to live like that!
So how many hours did you get last night? I mean sleep!
Tatum xx
