When you are sleeping bad you are gaining weight more easily
Statistically noticeable: every second employed in Germany is struggling with different kinds of sleep disturbances. And every second German is suffering under overweight (Federal Statistic Office of Germany).
Out of this reason, Swedish scientists of the University Uppsala were pursuing the issue whether disturbed sleep and the risk of weight-gaining are corresponding. I know out of experience, that too less sleep is stimulating single brain regions that are responsible for appetite and feelings of hunger. There is a clear connection between non-recreational sleep and a long-term weight-gaining.
Sleep efficiency is decisive for sleep quality
The physiologically actual necessary amount of sleep of a person depends of different factors like genes, age, sleeping routing, health and the inner clock. Besides of the sleep duration, the course of the sleeping phases beginning with the phase of sleep onset, phase of light sleep up to the very important phases of deep sleep and REM-sleep are very decisive. One such sleep cycle lasts about 90 – 100 minutes, a sufficient sleeper is passing through these cycles 4 to 5 times per night, without any big interruptions.
Consequentially, one can calculate an average sleep duration of 6.5 to 8 hours. Sleep is very individually and the sleep duration may vary from 5 to 11 hours. But normally, it is from 7 to 8 hours. During the last two decades, we nearly lost 2 hours of night-sleep. Out of this reason, besides of sleep duratin sleep quality and sleep efficiency nowadays are crucial.
Sleep efficiency means the de facto sleep duration in which one is actually asleep with regard to the time one is spending in bed to sleep. When you are lying in bed for 10 hours and only sleep 7 hours, your sleep efficiency is 70 per cent. A good sleeper has a sleep efficiency of far more than 90 per cent. When talking about sleeping quality, sleep efficiency is the most important indicator.
Quality sleep is influencing health, fitness and fat burning
Only when you are regularly reaching your personal sleep duration without any big interruptions you are generating a health-relevant sleep. There, the nightly fat burning gets optimized for hormonal reasons.
So, if you want to maintain or to reduce your body weight you should take care for an efficient night sleep and your last meal before sleep should be at least two hours before sleeping. If doing so, a nightly muscle loss can be avoided, too, because muscle growth is only happening during sleep. It is actually possible, to sleep yourself healthy and fit without losing muscles.
Healthy sleep is also strengthening the immune system, consolidating our learn- and memory-capacity. From the scientific point of view, sleep is the best anti-stress-factor and protects from mental diseases and burnout.
An unhealthy combination: stress and lack of sleep
Like I like to call it, the daily routine is having a “mirror-effect” to sleep quality as well as to weight control. The combination of stress and lack of sleep is fatal. As soon as we are getting to much stress stimuli our body increases the distribution of the stress hormone Cortisol. Amongst others, this hormone signalizes the body nutrient deficiency what in turn is increasing the feeling of hunger and very often leads to dreaded ravenous hunger attacks.
When a disordered daily routine is added –- little natural light, too less breaks, lack of exercise, drinking too less water –- it is having a direct influence on sleeping quality. When you are having too much of Cortisol in your blood, it will be hard to fall asleep and sleep through. And so the vicious circle is closing. This is describing the manifold interactions of day, night and habit – the core of sleep psychology.
By the way: when you fall asleep in the evening right away or within a few minutes it points to a lack of sleep. The healthy, naturally based phase of sleep onset takes about 15 minutes according to sleep medical findings.
Sleeping underlay has the biggest leverage effect
In my sleep science, I was doing pioneer-work. Already for 25 years I have been dealing with the question which factors are having the most serious influence on sleep quality and sleep efficiency. I have been exploring the connections of daily and sleeping habits and the sleep quality and –efficiency resulting from it.
Based on my scientifical findings I developed a nature-based “sleep-healthy-concept” that is considering all relevant sleep medical, orthopaedical, material-related and environmental factors. The measurings in the sleep lab quickly showed that the mattress- and sleeping-system is having biggest leverage effect. Material, orthopaedics, bedding- and electro-climate are having a crucial meaning for the regeneration of body and soul.
Only the proper combination of these sleep-biological factors paired with a sleep friendly shaped daily routine, the consideration of the personal sleeping rhythm, the sleep surroundings up to the stabilization of the natural earth magnetic field is leading to a biological high-quality sleep.
Prof. Dr. Karl Hecht, Berlin, one of the best known German sleep medics is confirming my findings and the fact, that the “sleep-healthy-concept” is significantly raising the sleep efficiency. Prof. Dr. Hecht and I are already co-operating for numerous years.
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