Healthy Sleep Solutions

According to the CDC, more than 1 in 3 adults do not get enough sleep. Without adequate sleep, it's difficult to reach your healthiest self. Inadequate sleep can lead to sugar cravings, over eating, weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. There are several things than can impact sleep but an often overlooked area is how nutrition impacts sleep. Read below to more about healthy sleep solutions.

Picture of a nigh stand with books, a vase, and a picture frame.

“Adequate sleep restores us physically, mentally, and emotionally.”
- Today's Dietitian

You may be surprised to learn that sleep plays an important role in several areas of your health. Clients frequently report sugar cravings and low energy, wondering what they should eat to fix these issues. While food plays a significant role in energy and cravings, sleep also plays an important role but is often overlooked.

The reality is, for optimal health you must get optimal sleep. In addition to helping you feel more energetic and refreshed, this can also have a significant impact on several other areas of your health.

What is adequate sleep?

First, you may be wondering how much sleep is enough sleep. This can vary from person to person but According to the consensus statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society, adults should be getting 7 or more hours of sleep (1). Even if you feel like you do just fine on 6 hours of sleep, it's likely that you have just adjusted to that amount of sleep but would benefit from hitting the 7 to 9 hour mark.

Although going through your day feeling on top of the world is an obvious plus of getting good sleep, there are more more long lasting benefits to good sleep.

Health risks associated with poor sleep (1)

Weight gain
Obesity
Diabetes
Hypertension
Heart disease or stroke
Depression
Increased risk of death
Impaired immune function
Increased pain
Impaired performance
Increased errors
Greater risk of accidents

Poor sleep and appetite

Do you ever feel like on you are more hungry on the days that you get very little sleep? There is an actual scientific reason for why this happens! Sleep deprivation can cause two hormones that regulate appetite to fall out of whack. This can result in an increased appetite and decreased feeling of fullness, ultimately resulting in you eating more calories.

You may also find that on the days that you are walking around like a zombie, you are craving more sweet and salty foods. This isn't just your imagination. There is a physiological process that happens when you don't get enough sleep that causes this to happen. Sweets are the quickest way that our body can get energy, so craving sweets is your body's way of quickly finding energy to power through the day. Because the energy from sweets is quick, it doesn't last for long so the sugar cravings keep coming.

As somebody who has struggled with sleep myself, I understand that getting more sleep can be easier said than done. Follow the healthy sleep solutions below to work towards getting better sleep and improving your overall health today.