We hear it
all the time. “I didn’t sleep well.” Or, “I’m running on four hours of sleep.”
Or we put shame on those who do get enough sleep. We assume a person who gets
eight hours each night must not work that much, or be lazy, or not be busy with
kids and a family, etc. Most of us view sleep as a luxury instead of a
priority. It’s time to reverse the way we think about sleep and make it our top
priority.
Yes, I think
of sleep as an ergogenic aid (technique or substance used for the purpose of enhancing performance), more important than any nutritional supplement or
performance-enhancing drug. It’s something that we must obtain not only if we
want to lose weight and keep it off, but for our mental status, hormone function,
physiological function, metabolism, and immune system.
I’ll admit,
I’m one of those crazy individuals who wakes up at 4:15a.m. every weekday. Yes,
you’re correct, that’s not a typo. I said 4:15a.m. I work out from 5a.m.-6a.m. before
heading off to my dietetic internship. I always get that crazy look from people
as they stutter out the words what, how, why? I usually smile and respond, “You
know, I often ask myself those three questions as the alarm blares through my
room at 4:15a.m.”But really the answer is quiet simple. You don’t need a pill, a
special pillow, or yet another advertisement selling you something, you simply
need quality and quantity sleep to be an early riser. I like to think of it as
Q2S, quality and quantity sleep. Quality sleep includes both REM and
non-REM cycles. Quantity sleep is achieving seven to eight hours of sleep each
night. Although there is much we don’t understand about the science of sleep,
lets talk about what we do know and some ways we can help increase Q2S.
Sleep is
classified into two different categories: REM and non-REM (NREM). NREM consist
of four phases. The fourth phase also know as slow wave sleep (SWS) or delta
affects how refreshed and awake you feel in the morning (which is especially
important if you get up at 4:15a!). REM
sleep occurs several times each night and it is the period where most dreaming
occurs. When we consistently deprive our bodies of sleep a snowball effect
typically occurs. Stress hormones,, inflammatory factors, including C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a risk
factor for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, are released by the body in
response to sleep restriction. To make the situation worse, lack of sleep
decreases leptin, a hormone that lets you’re brain know you’re not hungry and
increases ghrelin, the hormone that stimulates your appetite. Which, you
probably already guessed, may lead to poor dietary choices and increase risk
for obesity.
I know what
you’re thinking, this is no big deal, I can make up for my lack of sleep on the
weekends. Wrong. The latest research shows that there is no such thing as
“sleep debt” and you can’t simply “pay it off” on the weekends by sleeping in.
Tips for Q2S:
·
Sleep
in a cool, dark, quite room. Yes, that means no TV, computer, radio, cellular
device, etc.
·
Avoid
high sugar and starchy foods before bedtime.
·
No
caffeine after 12pm. I’ll admit, this rule may be hard to follow for me as I
have an extreme, unnecessary coffee addition.
·
Keep
tract of your sleep! Not one size fits all. Figure out what works best for you
and stick to it.
To find more
on this topic:
SCAN student blogger
Allison Bokenkotter is an intern at the University of Cincinnati. In addition, she’s the diversity/national
nutrition month chair for the Greater Cincinnati Dietetic Association. You can find her on LinkedIn: Allison
Bokenkotter.
