I have officially decided that sleep deprivation for extended periods of time is quite possibly the worst thing the human brain and body must endure.
If you are a sleep deprived right now, you are probably reading this hoping that it'll put you to sleep. I'll try to keep it as boring as possible. ;)
Last week I experienced about 8 days straight of pretty much NO sleep. I think I got a total of 4 hours at the VERY MOST on a good night. On night 5, I actually slept for about 30 mins. It was horrific. I have NO idea what in the world was going on with me. As much energy as I have, I am actually the type that can fall asleep really well.
I think it just started to get to that point where I was so afraid of not being able to fall asleep that I couldn't fall asleep. It got so bad for me physically that I was sick and I even think I hallucinated a few times. LOL. Please do not call a mental institution, I am not officially a schizo.
ANYWAY, being a short-lived insomniac caused me to make some of the worst decisions about my body and my health that I've made in a LONG time. I was SOOOOOO Out of Order
First of all....I stopped working out. I was too tired. I forwent my exercise in hopes to get extra sleep. Yeah...didn't happen.
I also started eating like a crazy maniac. For one, I was off my routine, so I had no gauge on what times to eat. My whole 2.5 - 3 hour eating schedule went right out the window. I just ate for gratification. I wanted starchy sugary foods. They gave me a quick energy fix. I also overate because I could never get full and because I was feeling depressed and anxious from lack of sleep. Food totally and completely became a comfort thing for me.
Third, all of my cognitive function and reasoning ability went haywire. I would sit there and tell myself what I KNEW to be true, but my mind was at war with my body and I caved into that crazy hole of irrational emotion every time a decision needed to be made.
Fourth, I became desperate. I went to the store...the WAL-MART store and bought 5 different types of sleep medication. This is a BIG no no for me. I didn't care. I ended up taking NyQuil, benadryl, sleep assist, and a host of other things. All of these meds wired me even more.
I was a HOT MESS.
FINALLY, I fell asleep one night after I wasn't even trying. I slept forever and woke up the next morning feeling like a new woman. Seriously, birds were chirping and fawns were dancing. I guess that broke the cycle because since then, I have been sleeping like a bear in hibernation and wake up singing obnoxious happy songs and thanking God for sparing me because I was SERIOUSLY one sleepless night away from certified CRAZY!
Well, I am still dealing with the aftermath. What did 8 days of sleep deprivation do to me. Long Term? Hopefully nothing. Short term? I put on about 5 lbs. And it all stuck right around my stomach. I am hoping to sleep all that off, which I know I will, but all this sleep deprivation compelled me to learn so much about the importance of sleep for one's overall health. Specifically, I researched quite a bit on the impact sleep deprivation has on one's hormone and metabolic function.
I am going to break it down and make it real simple to understand why sleepless nights may be making you it hard for you to lose weight....as if dazed, emotional, and miserable weren't enough.
First, there are two hormones in particular that control your appetite.
1. LEPTIN is the hormone that gives you the sense that you are FULL.
2. GHRELIN is the hormone that gives you the sense of HUNGER
People who are restricted from sleep have significant differences in the levels of these hormones. In fact, studies have shown that people who were subjected to sleep deprivation had a 45% increase in their appetites for sugary starchy carb type foods. That's a pretty big increase! UM, yeah...that would have been ME!
It is also shown that people who are sleep deprived begin showing insulin resistance similar to that of a diabetic. In layman's terms, it means that when you haven't slept well, your blood sugar stays elevated for longer. THIS IS BAD for your health!
Other studies have actually shown that blood glucose levels will stay significantly higher in a sleep deprived person than someone who is well rested.
So, last week...if you and I went out for lunch and both had a sandwich from Atlanta Bread Company, my blood sugar would have stayed elevated for far longer than yours. When blood sugars stay high, your body acts accordingly to compensate. Hormones get thrown off and without going into the science of it....you gain weight faster.
A lot of this has to do with stress as well. Cortisol is another hormone that is secreted by our adrenal glands. It is a fight or flight hormone that helps regulate our response to stress. When you are sleep deprived or in a constant state of stress, cortisol remains elevated and too much cortisol has been known to increase the amount of fat deposited around your midsection. Yeah....also ME!
Lack of sleep also accelerates aging as there is less time for your body to heal and restore itself. And it is highly advisable that you get to bed before 11 pm because the body actually goes through a metabolic process where the liver dumps toxins between 11pm and 1am. Your body deals with this process much better when it is in La La Land. I've actually noticed that if I don't fall asleep before 10 pm I will get a "second wind" and it becomes difficult for me to fall asleep until long after midnight.
So what's the point of this boring blog entry?
SLEEP!!!
The American's average night of sleep has lessened by nearly 3 hours over the last 50 yrs. Look at what it's doing to us as a nation!
Start making a good night's sleep a priority in your life. Figure out when you have to wake up and then try to be in bed 9 hours prior to that. Read a good book or a boring one until you fall asleep so that you can get a full 8 hours. This is my new goal for myself. I usually average about 6 hours, but after 8 days of no sleep, I am placing SOOOO much for value on this part of my life.
I hope you do as well!
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