Beware of Late-Night Eating

Don't eat after 7 pm.

It's okay to eat late at night so long as you didn't pig out during the day.

Scratch that. It's not about timing, it's about calories.

No, it's about timing and calories!

Confused? I know, the messages tend to get mixed and muddled. So let me set the record straight (for now) based on a recent finding that will have you thinking twice about that late-night snack.

Northwestern University has just come out with a study that shows what a lot of people don't want to hear: eating when the body prefers to be sleeping (ahem, when it's dark outside and most of your neighbors are in bed) can have an impact on weight gain - regardless of your calorie load for the day. Timing your meals, it turns out, plays a much bigger role in your weight equation than previously thought.

This doesn't surprise me in the least. We've known for quite some time how influential the body's internal clock, or circadian rhythm, can be on its physiology. Recent studies have also confirmed that this clock regulates energy use, suggesting the timing of meals may matter in the balance between caloric intake and expenditure. In other words, time a meal badly in relation to your body's clock, and you'll gain weight. Time it perfectly, and your body will use those incoming calories to burn for energy rather than store them as fat.

Without even getting into the scientific details of how this is so, it's easy to imagine how the body would prefer to not have to work so hard when it wants to sleep. The moment you put something in your mouth when the body is trying to slow down and get some rest, it's screaming back at you: What are ya doing? It's time for bed! I don't want to burn these calories now. Let's save them for tomorrow...and put them on the shelf for now (as fat).

So, based on these findings, let me offer some advice short of writing the new diet book:

• Set a time after which you try not to eat anything prior to bed. Ideally, this time should be at least an hour before hitting the pillow.


• Choose bedtime snacks intelligently. If you eat dinner on the early side, and need a snack before bedtime, go for something that entails complex carbs and a little protein, such as a piece of toast with a small smearing of a nut butter on top.


• Avoid fatty foods before bedtime. This is not the time to be chowing down on hot fudge sundaes, triple-cheese pizzas, and the classic burger and fries.

I've always said that getting good sleep is one of the easiest (and cheapest) ways to lose weight. Now there's one more reason hit the hay on a empty stomach.

Sweet Dreams.

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

Related Topics:

• Sleep Disorders: Member Discussion
• Get the Sleep Well newsletter in your inbox weekly

Is Your Sleep Deprivation Leading You to Diabetes?

Pop quiz: Which of the following words does not seem to go with the others?

• Obesity
• Calories
• Insulin
• Sleep
• Fat

If you said sleep, you're right. Er, you're wrong actually. While sleep may not seem like it belongs in the same category as words that revolve around weight, it actually has everything to do with weight and whether or not you're at risk for diabetes. Two fascinating studies that just came out to further prove it:

1. One study out of a sleep lab at Penn State College showed that insomniacs who slept only five to six hours a night had greater odds of developing diabetes.
2. The other study, this one from the University of Chicago and published recently in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, demonstrated that sleep deprivation mixed with sedentary living and free access to food can change the body's physiology to the point it resembles that of a prediabetic. In other words, the body's insulin resistance and glucose tolerance shifts, leaning toward a dangerous condition that's a precursor to full-blown diabetes.

I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty remarkable...and scary. This change in physiology, by the way, in the second study happened over the course of just two weeks as healthy adults were forced to get by on only five hours a night.

None of this was news to me. I've written numerous times about the impact of quality sleep in our ability to lose and maintain a healthy weight, and avoid the ravages of diabetes.



Other studies have also shown what happens when we miss out on sleep. We can't seem to go a day without more news about our diabetes and obesity problem. But I still find that the conversation about this hugely popular topic often gravitates toward access to healthy diet choices, and ways to get more regular physical activity. What about access to more and better sleep?


Sweet Dreams,

Michael J. Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor™
www.thesleepdoctor.com

Related Topics:

• Sleep Disorders: Member Discussion
• Get the Sleep Well newsletter in your inbox weekly

Spring Sleep Makeover!

In some parts of the country, winter is still holding down the fort. But for many of us, spring is really right around the corner and soon we'll be embracing the outdoors and welcoming warmer weather. Where I live in Arizona, it is time to break out the flip flops!

Now is also when we start to think about cleaning house literally and figuratively. Attempts to clean out the garage or closets are met with similar attempts to clean up our diets and get ready for shorts and bathing suit season.

I've blogged numerous times about the benefits of sleep on the body, particularly its ability to stay trim and shapely. Around this time of year, those New Year's Resolutions to get more exercise and eat higher quality foods are a thing of the past. Way past. So here's a suggestion:

Stop beating yourself up on what you've failed to accomplish thus far this year, and instead, just put sleep at the top of your priorities and watch what happens!

Sleep - not exercise or diet - is the stronger common denominator to feeling and looking better. Sleep is what will restore you from the inside out. It will boost your immune system, maintain your memory (so you can remember those commitments to getting into shape), and keep certain hormones in balance, including the ones that, when they run amok, will sabotage any efforts to lose weight because you won't be able to keep your hands out of the feedbag.

Imbalanced appetite hormones, for instance, can set the stage for gorging on high-calorie sweets and unhealthy carbs. Yet getting restful sleep can help optimize your body's hormonal system (not to mention prepare your body for burning up those calories throughout your day).

I'll admit, there are a lot of new wrinkles in this year's spring cleaning. The economy has most people on edge. I have no doubts that today's intense stress levels are adversely affecting the quality and quantity of our sleep. Not only do we take our worries to bed with us, fueling insomnia, but we also delay going to bed as we tool around the Internet late at night paying bills or seeking support through others on the Web.

So if you do one thing differently this month, hoping to arrive a little more refreshed and a little less stressed come May, try a sleep makeover:

• Commit to relaxing for at least 30 minutes before bedtime. No internet, no bill paying, no stimulating activities. If worries begin to creep in, write them in a journal, include a To Do list if that helps, and be done with them for the night.



• Go to bed and get up at the same time 7 days a week. Make sure to get the right amount of sleep. For most of us, that's 7 or 8 hours.



• Watch what you eat and drink late in the day and into the evening. Too much caffeine and/or alcohol can disrupt sleep, and so can drinking water that will have you going to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

A little spring cleaning of our sleep hygiene will allow us all to spring forward...and achieve the kind of vibrant health we all dream about year round. For more tips and ideas, see my blog.

Sweet Dreams,

Michael Breus, PhD
The Sleep Doctor

This sleep article is also available at Dr. Breus's blog, The Insomnia Blog.

Related Topics:

• Watch Your Sleep, Watch Your Weight
• Sleep and Obesity Quiz
• Sleep Disorders: Member Discussion
• Get the Sleep Well newsletter in your inbox weekly