sleep | Health, Fitness And Diets

What a bad night’s sleep really does to your body

Dr Sara Gottfried is, in her own words, an “under sleeper”. In our over-caffeinated, over-worked and gadget-addictedsociety, she’s far from alone: researchers from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Manchester and Surrey universities have found people are sleeping almost two fewer hours a night than they were in the 1960s – and our health is deteriorating as a result. “We are the supremely arrogant species; we feel we can abandon four billion years of evolution and ignore the fact that we have evolved under a light-dark cycle,” says Oxford University’s Professor Russell Foster, who worked on the study. “What we do as a species, perhaps uniquely, is override the clock. And long-term acting against the clock can lead to serious health problems.” These problems include an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, type-2 diabetes and obesity. “Under-sleeping is the next sugar – it’s a health time bomb,” says Dr Gottfried, who says just about every aspect of modern living... Read more »

Women and sleep: 5 simple steps to a better night’s rest

Sleep shortfalls can lead to a range of health problems, from being more likely to catch a cold or gain weight to increased risk of developing heart disease or diabetes. For optimum health and function, the average adult should get seven to nine hours of sleep every night. But more than 60% of women regularly fall short of that goal. This may be due to insomnia or another underlying condition that may require medical attention. But most women with a sleep debt run it up by burning the candle at both ends — consistently failing to get to bed on time or stay there long enough. Don’t worry about repaying the old sleep debt. Just make sure you start getting enough sleep from this point forward — starting tonight. Getting enough sleep is just as important as eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise. Tips for getting the rest you... Read more »

Exactly How Much More You Eat When You’re Sleep Deprived

It’s no secret that being sleep deprived is bad for you: Not only do you feel like crap the next day, not getting enough Z’s on the regular has been linked to weight gain. And now, researchers have an idea of exactly how much more you eat when you slack on sleep. A new meta-analysis of 11 small studies, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found people who didn’t get enough sleep ate an average of 385 calories more than usual the next day. Damn, Gina. The researchers also found that the study participants didn’t end up moving more, i.e. burning those extra cals after they got a bad night of sleep, so it’s pretty damn likely that those 400 or so extra calories would end up contributing to weight gain. It’s obvious that the study participants weren’t following their normal eating habits when they were wiped. But in... Read more »

MAKING TIME FOR YOURSELF!

I can’t speak for other places in the world, but among New Yorkers, the oft-uttered phrase, “I’m so busy,” is delivered as a simultaneous lament. Bragging, one to be interpreted as both “I wish I could cut back” and “I’m in high demand.” As eye-rolling as that may be, the truth is, for better or worse, we are busy. This leads to burnouts down the road that wreak havoc on our life when we forget about ourselves. I had never realized just how busy until a few months ago when I signed myself up for a ten-day mind-and-body cleanse that required me to stick to a few basic precepts: making all of my own meals, working out a few times during the prescribed period, taking one bath, and carving out ten minutes every morning and night to meditate. Simple enough, but my initial reaction to each task was, “Who has the... Read more »

What does sleep do for us?

I get this question a lot, and we’ve talked about it before in this column. There is some new information that is interesting. The honest answer is that we don’t know why it is we sleep. We spend about a third of our lives doing it, so nature must have a reason for it. But it’s hard to ask nature questions — or, at least, to get an answer. One possible reason for sleep is obvious: Our muscles may need the rest. However, the heart is a muscle, and it doesn’t rest while we sleep, thank goodness. And like our heart, many of our other organs, such as the liver and kidneys, keep working. Maybe our brains need rest? It makes sense, but I doubt it’s the reason. That’s because brain wave studies show that the brain is active while we sleep. Sigmund Freud thought that we needed to sleep in... Read more »

Sleep and weight loss

Sleep your way to a toned body with top tips from sleep expert, Dr Guy Meadows You’re eating well and working hard at the gym, but are your body goals falling short? Perhaps you’re not getting the results that you want. While stepping up your exercise regime and cutting down on treats, Bensons for Beds and Dr Guy Meadows show how sleep affects weight management and what steps you can take to help get healthy, fit and lean. How does sleep affect weight? Hungry Hormones: “There are two hormones that affect weight, Ghrelin which regulates how hungry we feel and Leptin, which regulates the feeling of fullness. Research demonstrates that after a poor night‘s sleep Ghrelin levels increase, Leptin levels decrease and the desire to eat is increased by 45% above normal levels.” Reduced willpower: “Sleep-deprived individuals select foods that are on average 9% higher in calories than when in a rested state. Research suggests... Read more »

10 ways to sleep better

Forget counting sheep – if you have trouble drifting off into a peaceful slumber, try our directions to the land of Nod instead… 1) Make space for sleep Clear your bedroom of all electronicdistractions, including mobile phones, TVs and laptops, to create a more peaceful environment. 2) Take a bath Having a warm soak before bed will help you unwind. It will also raise your body temperature, and the drop in temperature that follows this will encourage your body to think it’s time to go to sleep. Add essential oils to your bath to enhance the effect. 3) Go for a run Exercising during the day can help you to nod off at night. But don’t do a tough workout too close to your bedtime, or you may struggle to drift off. 4) Create a no-work policy Try not to do any work-related tasks in your bedroom as it can affect... Read more »