Sleeping Beauty

by: AndreaDow
Total views: 432
Word Count: 470

Thursday, January 10th

Now that you have tips on maximizing your workout and eating well, let's talk about an easy way that you can keep your waist trim, your skin healthy, your memory sharp and your risk of blood pressure, diabetes and depression reduced. You will might be surprised to know that all of these things can be achieved with a good night's sleep! Most people struggle to get enough sleep. I am a big sleep advocate and really try to keep the same bedtime and awake time throughout the week. Needless to say, I am nervous about entering the world of parenthood and massive sleep deprivation!

Most scientists agree that everyone needs at least seven-and-a-half hours of sleep per night. According to Allison Avery of Health Magazine, a lack of zzz's can lead to:
1. Increased risk of obesity- a lack of sleep increases two hormones, gherlin and leptin. These hormones affect our eating habits by increasing our appetites. Not enough sleep also slows your metabolism and increases cortisol levels resulting in increased appetite.
2. Poor Skin- sleep deprivation results in a decreased flow of the nutrients in your blood flow to your skin. This translates to a pale, washed-out look according to Michael Breus, PhD, author of Beauty Sleep.
3. Decreased Longevity- a recent study showed women getting less than seven hours of sleep per night had increased mortality rates by 20% compared to those who slept between seven and eight hours per night. Other studies demonstrate that lack of sleep can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and depression.
4. Poor Memory- think of your sleep as a time for your brain to sort and organize information into certain memory areas. A Harvard study showed that people staying awake for 35 hours in a row performed 20% worse on memory tests compared to those getting appropriate sleep amounts.

If 2008 is your year to get healthy sleep habits, how can you erase the sleep debt your are bringing into the new year?
Advice from Lawrence Epstein, MD, is to make up your sleep deprivation over the weekend. As time goes by, it will only get harder to erase your sleep debt! What if one weekend does not begin to make up for years of lost sleep? The best thing to do is change your lifestyle so you can catch your zzz's!

Curious as to how much sleep you really need? Try to figure it out on your next vacation. Dr. Epstein says that "the last day of vacation should be a pretty accurate indicator of how much sleep your body actually needs." The first half of vacation will be spent allowing your body to catch up on sleep so avoid using those days as your sleep target.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog to see if your bedroom is sleep friendly.....

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