Day 15 - Don't Forget About Your Sleep

The quality and amount of sleep you get is just as important as the food you eat and how much you exercise. Sleep plays an extremely important role in the well-being of the human body. We know that sleep helps rejuvenate, heal, and repair the body after the rigors of everyday life, but it turns out that it also plays an important role in maintaining a healthy weight.

We have known for some time now that sleep deprived individuals consume more calories in a day on average:

"Findings, reported Wednesday at an American Heart Association meeting in Atlanta:

-Participants consumed an average of 296 calories more when they were sleep-deprived compared with when they were well-rested.

-When women were sleep-deprived they ate an average 329 more calories a day vs. when they were well-rested; men ate 263 more calories.

-Overall, most of the extra calories came from high-fat foods such as ice cream and fast foods.

-When women were sleep-deprived, they ate an average of about 31 more fat grams a day. Men's fat intake didn't climb that much.

"Ice cream stood out as the preferred food during the sleep-deprived state," says lead author Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition medicine at Columbia. "Sleep deprivation makes you more susceptible to overeating, so that can be something to consider when you're trying to lose weight.""

But a new study from the University of Washington has found that a lack of sleep can actually play havoc with your genes:

Watson and colleagues’ study of 1,811 twin pairs is not the first to link obesity with short sleep but it reveals sleep’s influence at the genetic level.

“When the twins slept greater than nine hours a night, only about 30 percent of their body weight was due to genetic factors,” he said. “Conversely, when the twins slept less than seven hours a night, 70 percent of their body weight was due to genetic factors.” This suggests that short sleep creates a permissive environment for the expression of obesity-related genes.”

Sleep does not change a person's DNA, per se, but short sleep may influence factors that control gene expression and result in metabolic and hormonal changes that cause weight gain, Watson explained. The journal SLEEP accepted the study for publication this year. 

This is yet another important study proving that a healthy lifestyle is a multi-pronged approach. By using exercise, healthy foods, and a sufficient sleep schedule, you can maintain a happy, healthy mind and body.

Quote of the day:

"Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal, My strength lies solely in my tenacity."

~L.Pasteur