"What does sleeping have to do with digestion and weight?", you may ask?
Actually, a lot more than you may think.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, EVERYTHING is connected. And how hungry we are and how well we digest is definitely to how well rested and rejuvenated our bodies are.
I have been doing alot of research on the hormones ghrelin (and leptin) in my PD chapter of the bodies requirements of Vitamin S's (you will enjoy the explanation of this newly DIVA discovered vitamin, girls!). Anyway, of these S's, THE most important of them all is SLEEP. A full nights sleep is not a luxury--it is a necessity for your health and hormone balance. Once you you dip below 7 hours a night, you are at a greater risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke, depression and MANY more deleterious health issues.
In Adrenal Fatigue, the 21st Century Stress Syndrome, Dr. James Wilson explains in detail why sleep is so important to overall health, and how our adrenals can easily burnout, causing all sorts of 'seemingly' unrelated symptoms (yes, chronic digestion issues included)
Get this: In studies conducted on rats who were kept up at night (being awakened as soon as their brains showed REM sleep waves), the rats began to overate. And they ate until they became obese! The daily food they were presented with had not changed--only their sleep.
So, if a change of sleep affects our hunger, wouldn't it affect our ability to digest too? Digestion requires A LOT of energy, and without a reserve of it (ie. sleep deprivation), no wonder so many of us are walking around with cramps, bloated tummies or heart burn. Aside from some of the low quality food we may be eating, proper sleep, and a healthy and balanced cycle of parasympathetic stress ('rest and digest' mode) to sympathetic (stress mode) are necessary.
For me, I find it much easier to take on and maintain new lifestyle habits when I understand the facts behind them. Knowledge is power when it can be used as motivation.
On that note, here are a few important facts that I discovered in my research and they continue to empower me to value my sleep. I hope they do the same for you:
■Physical repair takes place from approximately 10PM-2AM; psychic regeneration occurs from approximately 2AM-6AM.
■Chinese medicine follows the Chinese 24 hour clock which honors a specific time of rejuvenation and activation for each organ and meridian. Interestingly, Liver and Gallbladder Meridians are 'on' from 11PM to 1AM. This is another reason to be fully sleeping by then, giving your liver--your main detoxification organ--the chance to work optimally.
■Following a normal cortisol rhythm (cortisol being the stress hormone), nighttime cortisol drops. It is therefore recommended, under ideal conditions, that one be in bed and asleep by 10PM. If these 3-4 hour windows of physical repair and psychic regeneration are compromised, a person may develop severe adrenal exhaustion.
■More than just our eyes are sensitive to light. Sleeping in complete darkness (Primitive Diva's think cave) is ideal for complete rejuvenation, as it allows every cell in your body to be completely free of light stimulation.
■Proper cool like temperatures also creates ideal sleep conditions: “When you go to sleep, your set point for body temperature -- the temperature your brain is trying to achieve -- goes down,” says H. Craig Heller, PhD, professor of biology at Stanford University. “Think of it as the internal thermostat.” If it’s too cold, or too hot, the body struggles to achieve this set point.
■Avoidance of Carbohydrates at bedtime:Your levels of hunger hormone Ghrelin need to be high in order to slip into stage 3 or 4 sleep. Carbs depress ghrelin faster than any other nutrient, so eating anything, especially carbs, before bed can delay your entry into deeper sleep for several hours. The release of growth hormone is possible ONLY when the body is in a semi-fasting state, so the insulin spike from carbs will automatically interefere with growth hormone release. So, you must avoid anything that can interefere with with the most beneficial hormone release of the entire day!
I think that gives you more than enough knowledge to draw motivation from..... So what's it gonna be ,girls ? Are you willing to make SLEEP more of a priority? What if I do an entire article on the anti-aging benefits (don't worry its in the book)
Here are a 5 tips I've used and shared with my clients to help foster a healthy sleep/wake cycle
1.Start an early morning ritual - Meditation, Quiet Time, Relaxing reading,Work in the garden, slow barefoot stroll as the sun comes up or just make it 'your' time to get grounded and focused on the day ahead.When I feel my mind is overactive, or sluggish, I play an audio book on a topic of my liking or even listen soothing music.
2.Eat a healthy protein and fat rich breakfast (to get your hormones, brain and metabolism fired up) and eat regularly throughout the day. I eat 3-4 meals (which include animal protein 3-4 times a day). This is what I found to be the most balancing for me, and keep me out of munchy-madness by dinner or later. Find 'your' groove, but remember that both eating and not eating have their effects on your hormones, and your stress cycle. We want a smooth ride. The less ups and downs in stress, the better your digestion.
3.Participate in relaxing activities at night, and 'dim' the lights. Big screen TVs are not relaxing to the eyes, nor the body. (sorry!) If you can, get off the computer too (I'm so bad at following that one!Keep 'relaxation' as a goal. You deserve it. (If your a mother,like me, you understand how bedtime stress can accumulate from getting everything from the day wrapped up and getting the kids IN bed) See if you can't take even just 10 mins for 'yourself' to do what relaxes YOU!. Again--you deserve it!
4.Set yourself up for success - not failure. This means not to expect to feel glorious the minute you start this new regimen. Expect to feel 'off' for a while, or maybe tired at odd times in the day. Your body will adjust, and over time, it will thank you! Remember that it's a JOURNEY!
5.Also as per Tim Ferriss' book the 4HB ( a great read and a very intriguing book). His recommendation is to take a COLD shower for at least 5 mins. When I have the guts to do it, I'm totally grateful I did. It's the best feeling ever to get under the blankets and fall asleep as your body warms up to the perfect sleeping temperature. Feels incredible actually! And even when I'm not in the mood for COLD, a quick rinse helps to cleanse the body both physically and energetically from the day. Also,after the shower,I use a lavendar and coconut oil (in my Primitive Diva skin care collection)body oil that nourishes my skin for overnight repair and deeply soothes and relaxes the mind~ahhh!
Missing out on precious restorative sleep can wreak havoc on your body.....so make getting this Vitamin S a PRIORITY and......Sweet dreams, Diva's!
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