Sleepy sleepy bye bye

Rebecca Szczypka
Dec 9, 2022
4 min read

Updated: Dec 27, 2022

How can we spend one-third of our lives sleeping when there isn't enough time to get everything done!

For a start we would die if we didn’t sleep. Even small disturbances in our sleep patterns can disrupt our health, lifestyle, and happiness. Not only are we likely to be less efficient, less motivated, less enthusiastic, more accident prone, and more susceptible to mood changes; if we don’t get enough sleep, the biological processes that happen while sleeping, don’t take place.

What happens when we sleep:

The brain stores new information
Toxic waste is processed
Your body repairs cellular damage
Your body restores energy
Hormones and proteins are released
You have a second life in dream world

Sleeping is a fundamental part of our biology and vital to our wellbeing. It contributes to approximately 36% of all our behaviours. Sleep is something we should prioritise yet studies show that over 80% of the population across the USA(56%) and Western Europe(31%) suffer sleeping problems, most of whom considered that it impacted their daily life.

Why do we sleep?

There are many reasons we are thought to sleep, popular theories include:

Energy conservation
Cellular restoration
Brain function
Emotional well-being
Weight maintenance
Proper insulin function
Immunity
Heart health

Weight maintenance:

Whilst some of the other reasons for sleeping may appear more important, for this article I wanted to have a deeper dive into sleeps relevance to weight.

When it comes to weight management, people generally focus on diet and exercise. Sleep behaviour is often overlooked. And could be the missing link you’ve been looking for.

Your hunger cues are regulated by your sleep/ wake pattern. The hormones leptin and ghrelin are what stimulate these cues, affecting your levels of hunger (ghrelin, released in the stomach) and satiety (leptin, released by fat cells). When you’re asleep, ghrelin levels are reduced, as you don’t need as much energy. When awake, leptin stimulates the feeling of being full after eating.

Irregular sleeping patterns, including lack of sleep, can cause imbalances between these hormones contributing to increased hunger and decreased response to satiety cues.

Chronic sleep deprivation has been associated with an increased risk of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes.

This is in part because of the hormonal changes already mentioned, but also being awake longer, gives you a larger eating window, and can reduce self-control. If you’re tired, you’re more likely to crave foods that will give you a quick energy boost, typically high carbohydrate or high fat foods which are often readily available such as bread, fast food, and unhealthy snack foods.

Sleep deprivation can also affect the hormone cortisol, causing increased levels. Cortisol stimulates the release of glucose in the liver, if this glucose isn’t being used to power movement the increased levels in your blood can contribute to blood sugar imbalances, stimulate fat storage and lead to hunger cravings.

Sleep deprivation can also affect weight by not only decreasing the desire to exercise but also reducing athletic performance. Sleep deprivation is associated with low mood and depression which also commonly leads to reduced physical activity output. Regular physical activity is thought to contribute to restful sleep, so proper sleep and proper exercise are mutually beneficial.

Takeaway:

Sleep, diet, and exercise should work together for improved outcomes on weight management.

How can we make sleep work for us?

Body clock

We all have an internal, 24hr(ish) body clock that governs our sleep/wake cycle. This cycle is known as our circadian rhythm.

Your body clock usually fits into a general category, people tend to be early birds or night owls. Although some are somewhere in-between. In an ideal world we would identify which category we fall into and structure our lives to best accommodate.

For instance, I am without a doubt an early bird. I basically don’t function after 6pm, that’s my time to start unwinding, stop thinking, lower my activity and start switching to personal time. I know that if I have an evening activity planned, it needs to roll on from my day activities so that I can keep my energy levels up.

This means I’m often less productive in the evenings and so I aim to get all my important stuff completed earlier in the day. For me this includes exercise, I’m only likely to get a dedicated movement activity into my day, if I make time shortly after waking up. Likewise, I most enjoy personal reading, studying, or writing in the hours before my workday gets going. If I get all these things into my morning, I’m setting myself up for a good day. If I try and shuffle things around, maybe exercising in the afternoon, it’ll likely disrupt my flow. I try and stay flexible, but I know my boundaries.

How much do we need?

The reality is that the need for sleep varies considerably between individuals. The only way to really judge your sleep needs is to assess how you feel. However, as with recommended water intake, it can be useful to have a guide, especially if feeling tired has become your normal, so that you barely recognise it anymore.

Opinion on sleep need varies, but generally we hear that adults require 8 hours sleep per night. Some studies say we only need 6 hours, and others suggest a sweet spot of between 7 and 7 and a half hours. Some say more than 9 hours and less than 6 hours is detrimental. Needs also differ through-out of lifetimes, so my advice is to simply pay attention to your own needs and your own lifestyle.

And always prioritise your sleep!

Tips for better sleep

Go to bed at the same time every night
Create a structure that will help your body identify your readiness for sleep. For example, an hour or two before you plan to go to bed, turn the television off, pick up a book, reduce screen time, take a bath, brush your teeth, dim the lights, meditate, do some relaxing stretches, have sex. Come on, an orgasm is a great initiator for sleep ;)
Sleep in a cool, dark room
Keep a note pad beside your bed in case you need to dump your to do list down
Listen to a sleep story or relaxing music
Avoid eating 1-2 hours before bedtime
Avoid caffeine after 2pm
Limit alcohol and try not to drink any within 4 hours of bed