Lack of sleep and obesity

[watervole]

This isn't actually very recent news, but I was reminded of it by a friend who linked to an article in the Guardian showing that the link between obesity and lack of exercise isn't as clear cut as often assumed.

I became very aware of the link between lack of sleep and obesity through having two friends who suffered from sleep apnea - that's a nasty condition that keeps waking you up in the night.  Obesity makes sleep apnea worse - but - and it's a big but - sleep apnea also makes the obesity worse, setting up a vicious circle that is staggeringly difficult to break out of.

There seems to be a connection with hormones.  In a nutshell, if you don't get enough sleep, it affects the hormones that regulate appetite.

So, if you have a weight problem, try going to bed an hour or two earlier.  You may find it makes a surprising difference.

There's also a connection between lack of sleep and depression  It used to be thought that lack of sleep was  a symptom of depression.  It now seems likely that it's another of those circles and that lack of sleep can actually help cause depression.

In the case of depression, I suspect it's not only necessary to get more sleep, but to try and find techniques to relax and unwind before going to sleep.

(One of the many reasons I enjoy cross stitch is that it's a very good way of mentally relaxing in the last half hour before going to bed.  I'd recommend it to anyone)

Comments

[kat-erine.livejournal.com]

My downfall on that one is most of the nice healthy low fat recipies are for 4. I've tried scaling down but dev_iant complains about lack of food and we both end up raiding the fridge or freezer an hour or so later. Normally I end up cooking a 4 person portion between the 3 of us. I know the answer is to fill up on some nice healthy fruit - but I never fancy that in the evening somehow.

[jthijsen.livejournal.com]

Actually, a better answer is to pile the vegetables up on your plate as high as possible. Make sure your tummy is full to bursting with veggies. That ought to take care of at least some of the munchies and most vegetables contain hardly any calories at all, except for beans (not green beans, they're okay) and peas.

Also, there are low calorie snacks. Do you have something called snack a jacks where you live? It's low fat, reasonably low calorie and it tastes a lot like potato chips.

Lastly, reward yourself for being strong with a nice and totally unhealthy snack only once a week. You'll find it tastes much better if you don't eat it all the time.

[julesjones]

One of the things I found useful was a bag of prepared baby carrots. They're sweet-tasting, if you get the right variety, so they satisfy the craving for something sweet, but they also full you up a lot better than sweets do. And the ready-prepared ones don't take any more effort than unwrapping a bar of chocolate...