For many, the days of summer seem to pass by in a blink of the eye, especially if you’re busy progressing along with your program for medical weight loss. East Brunswick is about to welcome in yet another new school year while times of summer fun seemingly fade into the distance. Parents begin to batten down the hatches as they prepare to welcome an onslaught of new tasks to keep up with everyone’s busy school and work routines once again. If you’re trying to prepare the family for another school year while working towards losing weight through medical weight loss, time is likely scarce enough as it is. However, now more than ever, getting a good night’s sleep is imperative, as sleep loss is capable of negatively affecting your waistline if not properly managed.
According to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, sleep deprivation can make you feel hungry—even if you’re full. When you aren’t able to attain adequate sleep, sleep loss affects the body’s secretion of the appetite controlling hormone cortisol. In return, you may continue to feel hungry despite adequate food intake. What’s more, sleep loss also can contribute to increased fat storage by potentially interfering with the body’s ability to metabolize carbs. As you probably guessed, sleep loss will do no good for your efforts to lose weight and stay on track with your medical weight loss program. Despite the incoming school year and plenty of things to do morning, noon and night, it’s imperative that you get a good night’s sleep.
Not only will getting enough sleep during medical weight loss help keep your hunger-regulating hormones in check—you’ll also feel more energized throughout the day to stay on top of you and your family’s to-do lists. Here are some helpful tips to prepare your body for a peaceful night’s rest when it’s needed most.
- Ditch technology at least thirty minutes before you try to fall asleep—this means phones, TVs and computers. The light as well as the stimulation such means of technology have on the mind makes it more difficult for you to fall asleep.
- Dim the lights to prepare your room for a peaceful night’s sleep. Bright lights in the bedroom can prevent your brain from producing melatonin, the body’s sleep inducing hormone. Also, just like the light emitted from phone and computer screens, it stimulates the brain, potentially making it harder for you to fall asleep.
- Avoid drinking alcohol before bed as this can interfere with the REM phase of your sleep cycle. Though you may sleep for a solid eight hours, your sleep quality was likely diminished due to the alcohol in your blood, so you may still feel tired once you awake.
- Take a hot bath or shower an hour before bedtime. The hot water will help relax your body and induce a sense of calm. Light some soothing candles to really increase the meditative qualities of a warm bath before bed.
- Read one of your favorite books to help yourself fall asleep. The act of reading in bed is quite relaxing and distracts your mind from all of the other worries that may infiltrate your brain as you lay in bed.
Don’t let sleep loss interfere with your medical weight loss efforts—ensure a good night’s sleep by trying out some of these helpful tips when preparing your body and mind for bed.
