Sleep Your Way to Lose Fat? Maybe/maybe not….
Welcome to our health & self help blog.
Focus on Your Health:
In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today's post: Tuesday, 11-28-2006
Sleep Your Way to Lose Fat? Maybe…maybe not….
1. Possibly yes.
Studies seem to show that people who sleep 7 to 7 1/2 hours a day seem to be less fat & lose fat more easily than people who sleep less than that. And, this seems to be particularly true for women.
And, there are theories that suggest this is due to biochemical changes brought about directly by the amount of sleep, or lack of it.
And, other studies seem to show that those who get 7 to 7 1/2 hours a day of sleep enjoy better health than those who get less sleep or more sleep than 7 to 7 & 1/2 hours a day.
So, if you get much less than 6 1/2 hours of sleep or less or you get 8 hours or more, you may well improve your health by changing to 7 to 7 1/2 hours a day of sleep.
And, if you’ve been sleeping less, you may well find it easier to stay trim by changing to 7 to 7 1/2 hours a day of sleep.
2. Possibly yes; but for other reasons that may NOT require more sleep.
The key to this one, if you do get less sleep than 7 to 7 & 1/2 hours a day is why you do & what you do with the time instead.
Many people in the United States sleep less because they watch TV instead of going to bed.
Believe it or not, watching TV uses less calories than sleeping for many people. And for the others, it burns little more.
So, if you get 6 to 6 1/2 hours of sleep because you watch TV at night, you may well be able to exercise during the time you have been watching TV; lose a lot of fat; & sleep the same hours you do now.
Next, if you get 6 1/2 hours of sleep of sleep or less due to stress waking you up at night, it may well be that the unrelieved stress is the cause of hard to lose fat –NOT the lack of sleep.
And, studies show that people who are too stressed often tend to eat more sugary & fatty foods & fewer low calorie, health enhancing foods like whole fruit or vegetables.
So, in this case also, solving the problems that stress you, or finding a safe way to physically relieve your stress reaction until then or for things you cannot change, will help you lose fat & keep it off but may not require more sleep.
Yet another cause of lack of sleep is having a long commute. In addition to the stress this causes, it presses you for time to eat as well. For many people in the United States, they solve this problem by eating at Fast Food places.
At this time, that industry is improving. But due to the low fiber food with lots of transfats & the soft drinks that are sweetened with high fructose corn sryup & the lack of good tasting vegetable dishes, most people who eat at Fast Food places now often tend to be too fat or much too fat.
A long commute also tends to make it much harder to make time for exercise. Not exercising is a sure prescription for being too fat. Jean Mayer, PhD, found that our bodies make us hungry for exactly the right amount of food to stay healthy between about one & six to eight hours of exercise a day.
But, amazingly, he also found those who exercise much less than an hour, & especially less than half an hour, were hungry for MORE calories than their bodies were burning. So, he was able to show, conclusively in my opinion, that not exercising makes you fat.
So, if a long commute has you sleeping less, & as a result, eating lots of fast food & not exercising, you may very well be able to sleep the same hours & stay trim if you get a short commute or work at home & use the time you were commuting to eat better & exercise regularly.
So, if you want to be trim & have a long commute, it may well pay you to move closer to work; get a job closer to where you live; or work from home most days.
3. My guess is that both these things are true.
So, get as close to 7 hours a day of sleep as you can. Make the hours you sleep as regular as you can. Get as good quality of sleep when you are asleep as you can by making where you sleep quiet, dark, & cool but not cold.
And, watch less TV; maybe commute less; exercise regularly – or a bit more than you have been; & eat right, & you WILL be less fat.
****************
For most of our posts on exercise & an exercise resource,
see our post on Thursday, 11-16-2006.
Focus on Your Health:
In it we post health commentary & reviews of books, eBooks, & other things that improve or protect your health or which enable you to live longer, to be more prosperous, & to be more effective.
Today's post: Tuesday, 11-28-2006
Sleep Your Way to Lose Fat? Maybe…maybe not….
1. Possibly yes.
Studies seem to show that people who sleep 7 to 7 1/2 hours a day seem to be less fat & lose fat more easily than people who sleep less than that. And, this seems to be particularly true for women.
And, there are theories that suggest this is due to biochemical changes brought about directly by the amount of sleep, or lack of it.
And, other studies seem to show that those who get 7 to 7 1/2 hours a day of sleep enjoy better health than those who get less sleep or more sleep than 7 to 7 & 1/2 hours a day.
So, if you get much less than 6 1/2 hours of sleep or less or you get 8 hours or more, you may well improve your health by changing to 7 to 7 1/2 hours a day of sleep.
And, if you’ve been sleeping less, you may well find it easier to stay trim by changing to 7 to 7 1/2 hours a day of sleep.
2. Possibly yes; but for other reasons that may NOT require more sleep.
The key to this one, if you do get less sleep than 7 to 7 & 1/2 hours a day is why you do & what you do with the time instead.
Many people in the United States sleep less because they watch TV instead of going to bed.
Believe it or not, watching TV uses less calories than sleeping for many people. And for the others, it burns little more.
So, if you get 6 to 6 1/2 hours of sleep because you watch TV at night, you may well be able to exercise during the time you have been watching TV; lose a lot of fat; & sleep the same hours you do now.
Next, if you get 6 1/2 hours of sleep of sleep or less due to stress waking you up at night, it may well be that the unrelieved stress is the cause of hard to lose fat –NOT the lack of sleep.
And, studies show that people who are too stressed often tend to eat more sugary & fatty foods & fewer low calorie, health enhancing foods like whole fruit or vegetables.
So, in this case also, solving the problems that stress you, or finding a safe way to physically relieve your stress reaction until then or for things you cannot change, will help you lose fat & keep it off but may not require more sleep.
Yet another cause of lack of sleep is having a long commute. In addition to the stress this causes, it presses you for time to eat as well. For many people in the United States, they solve this problem by eating at Fast Food places.
At this time, that industry is improving. But due to the low fiber food with lots of transfats & the soft drinks that are sweetened with high fructose corn sryup & the lack of good tasting vegetable dishes, most people who eat at Fast Food places now often tend to be too fat or much too fat.
A long commute also tends to make it much harder to make time for exercise. Not exercising is a sure prescription for being too fat. Jean Mayer, PhD, found that our bodies make us hungry for exactly the right amount of food to stay healthy between about one & six to eight hours of exercise a day.
But, amazingly, he also found those who exercise much less than an hour, & especially less than half an hour, were hungry for MORE calories than their bodies were burning. So, he was able to show, conclusively in my opinion, that not exercising makes you fat.
So, if a long commute has you sleeping less, & as a result, eating lots of fast food & not exercising, you may very well be able to sleep the same hours & stay trim if you get a short commute or work at home & use the time you were commuting to eat better & exercise regularly.
So, if you want to be trim & have a long commute, it may well pay you to move closer to work; get a job closer to where you live; or work from home most days.
3. My guess is that both these things are true.
So, get as close to 7 hours a day of sleep as you can. Make the hours you sleep as regular as you can. Get as good quality of sleep when you are asleep as you can by making where you sleep quiet, dark, & cool but not cold.
And, watch less TV; maybe commute less; exercise regularly – or a bit more than you have been; & eat right, & you WILL be less fat.
****************
For most of our posts on exercise & an exercise resource,
see our post on Thursday, 11-16-2006.
posted by David at 1:07 PM
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