Sleep is an essential bodily process, and ensuring you get enough of your nightly Zs can do wonders for your health, mood and general wellbeing. It has a therapeutic function for your body and mind and primes you to be alert and ready to tackle the day ahead.
So, in this busy world, prioritising sleep may be just as important as moving your body and eating a nutritious diet. Increasing evidence highlights that a poor night’s sleep can affect our mood, immune system, physical health, appetite, and body weight.
There is reason to believe that a lack of sleep can also impact the foods we choose and our biological drivers to eat.
Have you ever noticed a change in your appetite after a poor night’s sleep? Or perhaps you find yourself reaching for chips or lollies when tired? Well, there’s a physiological explanation for these phenomena.
Evidence shows that lack of sleep leads to a desire for more unhealthy food and can increase our cravings for sweet foods. Poor sleep can play havoc on our appetite-regulating hormones – ghrelin and leptin. The dysregulation of these hormones appears to be directly linked to sleep deprivation as ghrelin, the appetite-increasing hormone, is amplified, and leptin, the appetite-decreasing hormone, is reduced. This is a recipe for a bigger appetite, which can ultimately lead to food-seeking behaviours. Studies confirm this outcome, where sleep-deprived participants tend to consume more calories than their well-rested counterparts.
The interplay between ghrelin and leptin is in a constant state of flux. This may explain why our appetite changes during the day. Yet, the research shows that when ghrelin increases and leptin decreases, our appetite is stimulated. So, no amount of willpower can change the inevitability of seeking food to satisfy the need to keep hunger at bay. Plus, it is often high-calorie foods that we desire, not only because they boost our energy supplies but because our ability to make healthier food choices is impacted by poor sleep.
Alarmingly, one of the most notable risk factors for obesity is short sleep duration. Some research indicates that sleep-deprived people are much more likely to develop obesity than those who have adequate sleep. Hormones likely mediate this effect. Plus, when we are awake for longer, we have a greater opportunity to eat. And when we are tired, we’re less likely to exercise. It’s a triple-whammy effect!
Further, research indicates that poor sleep can affect blood sugar metabolism and increase insulin resistance. Both of these factors can lead to diabetes. Short periods of sleep deprivation in healthy individuals can trigger prediabetes. There’s no sugarcoating the data.
So how can you get more and better quality sleep? Following a nightly routine is highly recommended. After all, your body’s natural rhythm follows a clock – aptly named the body clock. So, going to bed at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning helps reinforce the circadian rhythm.
Additionally, avoiding coffee and other caffeinated drinks too late in the day is best practice. Caffeine can disrupt sleep as it acts as a stimulant. Its modus operandi is to block the adenosine receptor in the brain. Adenosine helps to promote sleepiness. Meanwhile, there is some conjecture about nighttime eating and how it may impact sleep, but it’s best to listen to your body and nourish it as you see fit. Yet, anecdotally, some people report that eating too close to bedtime can impair their sleep latency – the time it takes to fall asleep.
The amount and quality of our sleep can profoundly impact our lives and affect almost every system in the body. After all, it is one of the key pillars of health. So, the benefits of sleep cannot be understated. Ensuring you get enough sleep should be of utmost importance. Your waistline, brain and immune system will thank you for it.
