Hey!

Do YOU find yourself struggling to get quality sleep? At times, I do. Unfortunately, this sometime leads to a bad gym day for me. But do you know how vital sleep actually is for weight loss and muscle gain?
To find out! Check out my new article I recently wrote !

The Negative Effects of Sleep Deprivation and How to Overcome It

Within the fast pace world we currently live in, our lives are becoming more and more hectic as we grow older. More years mean more responsibility and more payment of bills both of which lead to feelings of being overwhelmed, anxiety, hopelessness, and, unfortunately, in worst-case scenarios, bouts of depression. A major consequence of these negative feelings is sleep deprivation which can be a serious health risk for individuals. Not just limited to mental health but our physical health also absolutely plummets with inadequate sleep. The worst part is that the greater and greater responsibilities we take on cause an increase in stress and the more we stress out the more sleep we lose. THIS LEADS TO A VICIOUS CYCLE THAT CAN WRECK ONE”S HEALTH! A recent study found that going for 18–20 hours without sleep had the same negative impact on performance as a blood alcohol level of 0.1 (0.08 is considered legally drunk in the United States).
So you may ask yourself… What is considered sleep deprivation? Does this apply to me?
Sleep deprivation is the condition of not having enough sleep (On average 7-9 hours per night); it can be either chronic or acute. A chronic sleep-restricted state can cause the following

Fatigue,
Poor thought processing and decision making
Weight loss or increased weight gain.
Inefficient growth and development
Memory loss
Mental instability
Metabolism changes

How does sleep deprivation physiologically affect your body?

Lack of sleep can cause acute muscle pains. You may have experienced this after even one night of incomplete sleep.

Dizziness, nausea and headaches are well known side effects of lack of sleep. These side effects are created even after two consistent nights without much sleep.

A person having sleep deprivation is much more susceptible to having diabetes (type 2) and obesity as compared to someone who gets the required amount of sleep.

Not only does sleep deprivation affect you physically but also psychologically!

Memory loss and hallucinations are also acute lack of sleep side effects.

Sleep deprivation and psychosis have been closely linked by many studies. A person suffering from sleep deprivation is very much susceptible to being psychotic.

Lacking sleep has been known to cause irritability and less tolerance to situations.

Has been known to cause similar effects of ADHD. Causing someone to have a low attention span in certain situations.

Decreased daytime alertness. Loss of just one and half hours of sleep can result in a 32% decrease in daytime alertness.

So what consists of a good night’s sleep? Solid Sleep consists of four primary stages and a final phase called REM.

The Four Stages AND REM

These stages progress from stage 1 through REM then start over again with stage 1. A complete sleep cycle takes an average of 90 to 110 minutes.

Stage 1 is a relatively light sleep. In general, it’ll last a maximum of 10 minutes. It occurs when you’re transitioning from being awake to falling asleep.

Stage 2 is when you really begin to relax. Your body temperature and heart rate begins to slow and reach their appropriate resting state.

Stage 3 is the transition from light to deep sleep. If someone were to wake you up. In this stage you will often feel confused. This stage is where the body starts to get into its resting mode.

Stage 4 This stage is referred to as delta sleep, because those are the types of waves occurring in your brain are considered slow waves or in other words (delta waves) during this stage. In this stage your growth hormones (GH) take action, and protein synthesis really begins. This stage is crucial for muscle building. Also this stage is important for regulating hormones responsible for weight loss.

The final stage before the re-occurring circuit is
REM or (Rapid Eye Movement sleep)- Your muscles are relaxed but your brain and mind is wondering

So why is sleep so important for weight loss or muscle growth?

When you interrupt or decrease your sleep pattern you suppress the certain growth hormones. The body’s response to this increases the levels of reaction to stress, urges for sex, and decreases the productivity of the immune system. Lack of REM and NREM sleep (4 stages) causes a time lag in our ability to heal wounds. Lack of sleep also affects the immune system, hence, making it tougher to fight away diseases. Sleep has a profound effect on certain hormones. Primarily targeting “Hunger Hormones”. Think of sleep like energy to muscles for fuel for the brain. Most people need between 7 and 9 hours each night. Insufficient sleep impacts your hunger and fullness hormones, including two called ghrelin and leptin.

Ghrelin- (The Hunger hormone) signals your brain that it’s time to eat. When you’re sleep-deprived, your body makes more ghrelin.

Leptin- (Satiety hormone) on the other hand, cues your brain to put the fork down. When you’re not getting enough sleep, leptin levels plummet, signaling your brain to eat more food.

Put the two together, and it’s no wonder sleep deprivation leads to overeating and extra pounds.

Lack of sleep has also been linked to affecting other metabolic hormones

Cortisol- (the stress hormone) spike that comes from too little sleep. This stress hormone signals your body to conserve energy to fuel your waking hours.

Insulin-Within just 4 days of insufficient sleep your body’s ability to process insulin (a hormone needed to change sugar, starches, and other food into energy) is compromised.
As a result of the sleep deprivation, your body becomes more insulin sensitive. It tends to have trouble processing fats from your bloodstream, so it ends up storing them as fat. The bottom line is that too little sleep will severely depresses your metabolism and adds to additional weight gain.

So what do you do? How do you over comes this?

Shut down all electronics at least an hour before bed. This because the bright lights on this devices actually simulate certain impulses in our brain to stay awake.

Save your bedroom for sleep and sex NOT Work! This is training your mind not to think of your room as an office and temporary distracting you.

Create a bedtime ritual or plan! Do the same thing every night before you rest and don’t break your routine!

Be wary of certain foods and meals before bed. Avoid eating heavy meals

Avoid more then 2-3 alcohol drinks right before bed. This is cause alcohol will effect the body from going into REM sleep.

Avoid all caffeine at least 5-6 hours before bed is a rule of thumb. Generally I stop around 4-5 pm.

Create a schedule to follow and don’t break it!

Again, eliminate all bright lights at least an hour before. The dark light will cause your body to release the (sleep hormone) melatonin

Get confortable! Lay down relax and let your mind rest. Focus on your breath and eliminate all thoughts. Life is too short to stress

CONCLUSION
Without question, sleep is an essential asset in our daily lives. Sleep plays a vital role in our quest to live a meaningful, alert and healthy life. It is the major contributor to mental, physical, and spiritual well being. Without adequate sleep we are inevitably creating a recipe for a health disaster. So adopt the strategies I have described so that you have a balanced plan that will result in a solid seven to nine -hour night of rest. There is no doubt that you will notice a significant difference in your overall well being and health.
Enjoy the rest, you deserve it!!

References:
Jan, Tracy. “ Colleges Calling Sleep a Success Prerequisite.” ProQuest. Boston Globe, 30 Sept. 2008. Web. 02 Nov. 2014.

Khilawala, Rashida. “Lack of Sleep Side Effects.” Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web . Web. 02 Nov. 2014. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/lack-of-sleep-side-effects.html>.

Cheers,

Austen