ABC news reports that a new study shows that lack of sleep, in addition to high stress levels and depression, makes losing weight even more challenging.
The study, conducted at Kaiser Permanente in Panorama City, Ca., included 500 individuals who were asked to reduce their daily caloric intake by 500 calories and to exercise 180 minutes per week.
Findings of the study show that a combination of stress, depression and insomnia make it extremely difficult to shed weight.
Participants who reported high levels of insomnia, stress or depression were less likely to achieve their goal of losing 10 pounds.
Researchers explained that when you do not sleep and are experiencing stress, your body increases its production of cortisol, which causes an increase in glucose and insulin production, resulting in fat retention.
Results demonstrate that dieters need to focus not only on their eating and exercise habits, but also on their sleep and stress levels.
According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, most adults require between seven and eight hours of sleep each night to be fully rested. Below are tips suggested by the organization, with some of my modifications, to help improve your sleep on your own:
- Don’t go to bed unless you are sleepy.
- If you are not asleep after 20 minutes, then get out of the bed but keep the lights low and avoid electronics. I recommend listening to soothing music or an audio book while sitting in a comfortable chair with low or no light.
- Get up at the same time every morning.
- Avoid taking naps if you can.
- Don’t read, write, eat, watch TV, talk on the phone, or use any electronics in bed.
- Do not have any alcohol within three hours of your bedtime.
- Do not have a cigarette or any other source of nicotine before bedtime.
- Do not go to bed hungry, but don’t eat a big meal near bedtime either.
- Avoid sleeping pills, or use them cautiously.
- Try to get rid of or deal with things that make you worry. For example, you could keep a journal and make a habit of writing down your worries and concerns, including those about sleep. But make it a habit to write in it at least two hours before bedtime.
Many of my patients who can see a ‘picture’ of their sleep improve with progressive weight loss felt more empowered and they become more encouraged to stay with their weight-loss program. Recording their sleep at home with the sleep recorder available at http://www.SleepImage.com has been a valuable asset in helping my patients. -Preetam
Dr. Shives,
Back in November, 2010, my associate, Dr. Richard Hansler, sent you some of our amber colored glasses that block blue light. They are meant to be worn in the evening for a few hours before retiring. Since they block only blue light, one can function normally, e.g., read, watch television, work, on a computer, or whatever. However, the pineal gland is “tricked”into thinking you are in darkness and begins producing melatonin. Therefore, by making the time wearing the glasses plus the time one is asleep equal 10 to 11 hours, melatonin production can be maximized and brought back to the level of our forbearers and how humans evolved.
After all of the above “lecture”, I’m writing to inquire if you or any of your associates have had an opportunity to use our glasses and, if so, what the results might have been. Several thousand of our glasses are now in use and the majority (greater than 75%) of the users find that they improve their sleep habits. Just incidently, there is a clinical study in progress at a cancer treatment center in Evanston, to determine if their use can be of help to advanced cancer patients.
I’d appreciate very much hearing back from you regarding the above.
Thank you.
Edward Carome
Senior Scientist
Lighting Innovations Institute
John Carroll University
20700 North Park Blvd.
University Heights, OH 44118
e-mail: carome@jcu.edu
Phone: 216 397 4621
Hi Edward,
Yes I use the glasses a lot for delayed sleep phase syndrome and insomnia. my patients report that, when they use them faithfully, they help alot. I am sorry that I did not have the space to discuss them in my melatonin blog for CNN this week, but I did talk about them a few months ago when I blogged on DSPS.
Hi Dr. Lisa!
I saw your comments in an article by Arthur Allen “Recognizing and Treating Sleep Apnea” on Web MD.
Your office is 5 blocks from where I lived in the 80′s and 90′s, McDaniel and Simpson. I was on the Evanston/Skokie K-8 School Board, and very active in the community. I have been in Colorado since 1997.
I sleep with a CPAP and it helps. But, I am still exhausted off and on all day. Imagine a car engine running just fine, until you come to a stop. Then, instead of going to normal idle, the engine slows almost to a stall, but not quite a stall. That is me. I wake up tired every morning, even after sleeping 8-9 hours.
I have been to sleep specialists in Denver. One says my brain is like a battery that does not hold a charge and there is no cure. If I am mentally engaged, I do not get tired, even for 3-4 hours. At the end of the day, a 45 minute nap recharges me, and I can still fall asleep in 2 minutes at 10 pm. I am retiring Sept 30 of this year. So, naps will be an option.
My question – have you ever heard of the brain not holding the “charge” that comes from sleeping all night. If so, how can I find some information about this condition?
Thanks from a former neighbor.
Doug Griffin
Doug,
Have you had a sleep study in a sleep center? You need to do that if it has not been done. There is no medical condition where the “brain does not hold the charge”. This might be a metaphorical way to describe someone who has daytime somnolence despite adequate, quality sleep, but the only way to know whether you have a sleep disorder is to do a polysomnogram, or overnight sleep study, and if that is normal, you should stay the next day for a MSLT to look for other causes of your sleepiness such as narcolepsy.
Good luck neighbor!