Loss Weight Tip SLEEP

Want to lose weight? A great loss weight tip SLEEP! It is true the more you sleep it will actually help you loss excess pounds. During the day the more active you are it is easier to maintain your weight, but at night the opposite is true. According to research, getting plenty of deep sleep is a major key to weight loss. In fact, sleeping less than the recommended seven hours of sleep can increase your risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. A 2010 University of Chicago study reported that those who slept 8.5 hours lost 56% more body fat than those that slept only 5.5 hours. Why? Too little sleep may change your metabolism, so you will burn more calories slowly. It also alters levels of hormones that affect body fat. If you eat more, every extra hour of sleep means you are 21% less likely to eat high calorie night time snacks. Your body may mistake chronic sleepiness for hunger and people will eat when they don’t really need too. So, sleep easy and deep to lose weight!

Here are 12 tips experts feel how you can get enough sleep, so you will lose weight.

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1. How many hours of sleep do you need. If you feel rested after six hours of sleep, wake up without an alarm and don’t get drowsy during the day you are probably getting enough sleep. If you are tired during the day and need caffeine to stay awake, you are getting less than you need. Establishing a sleep routine by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day will help you get into a good sleeping habit. Try going to bed 15 minutes earlier every night and see how you feel the next day to determine how many hours you need. Slowly adjusting the time you go to bed will help you to fall asleep easier than making a dramatic change from 6 hours to 8.5 hours, as you will just lie there tossing and turning and increasing your stress level. If you find you can’t fall asleep, get up and do something boring or relaxing like taking a warm bath or reading a dull book.

2. Control your stress level. Do you dread going to bed because you can’t fall asleep easy? Before you go to bed write down what is causing your stress. When you get your worries or to-do-list out of your head and onto paper it will help you prioritize your life and can make problems more manageable, so you can deal with them the next day.

3. According to Dr. Chokroverty, the program director for clinical neurophysiology and sleep medicine, wine may help you to fall asleep, but when it wears off, you wake up. Alcohol interferes with serotonin neurotransmitters which help you to in the deeper, restorative stage of sleep. If you like to have a drink, have it at least 2 hours prior to bedtime.

4. Shut down all electronics; TV, computer, iPhone Touch, cell phone, video games and other gadgets at least an hour before bed. Electronics that activate the brain will inhibit sleep. Try to listen to sleep music mp3, white noise or a hypnotic CD instead. These will not only help relax your mind but will help keep you from thinking about all the things you have to do the next day.

5. Try to avoid caffeine and nicotine before bedtime. Coffee and cigarettes may help wake you up but they also prevent you from sleeping soundly at night. Caffeine takes eight hours to leave the body, so don’t drink coffee, soda or take medication that contain caffeine in the afternoon.

6. Sleep environment is essential for a good night sleep. Your bedroom should be cool, quiet, dark and even pet free. You also want to associate your bedroom with sleep. If you watch TV or search on your computer you will train your brain to associate your bed as a play you “play” instead of sleep. Also light from these devices will inhibit production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates your sleep/wake cycle. If you can’t control the light or noise in your room you may want to purchase some ear plugs or a mask. You can also turn on a fan to diminish external noises like noisy neighbors or dogs barking. The Better Sleep Council recommends that the ideal sleep temperature is about 65 degrees. Pets are great for the heart, but they can interrupt your sleep by jumping up on your bed during the night. If you must have your pets in your bedroom train them to sleep in their own pet bed on the floor.

7. Exercise is also great for your heart, but if you want to sleep better it is advised not to work out late in the evening. Exercise raises the body’s core temperature and makes it hard for you to fall asleep easy. The best time of day to exercise is early in the morning, but if this time is inconvenient for you try to work out at least four hours before your bedtime.

8. Some of us need to have a nightly snack, because they feel if they go to sleep hungry they don’t sleep well and will wake up earlier in the morning. Food that are full of tryptophan, an amino acid that causes drowsiness are; whole grains, chicken, turkey, eggs or a glass of warm milk. My best nightly snack is milk toast, just heat some milk and toast your whole wheat bread. Butter your bread and cut up into one inch squares, place in a bowl. Pour warm milk over bread and add a teaspoon of sugar or 2 teaspoons of honey (see more about honey below).

9. I love to nap, but taking a nap late in the day can cause me to go to be way past my bedtime. Also taking a nap may mean you are sleep deprived at night. If you love to nap, a power nap is the best. A short 30 minute nap before 4pm will invigorate you and still allow you to stick to your bedtime schedule.

10. You may have a nutrient deficiency if you are having trouble sleeping. See my article on Magnesium and Sleep for more information. Dr Kravich recommends 1,000-1,200 mg of calcium for premenopausal women and 1,500 mg for menopausal women –along with 500 mg of magnesium for every 1,000 mg of calcium. And take them before bedtime. But watch out: Magnesium has a laxative effect. You should check with your doctor before taking any supplement.

11. Do you suffer from nightly heartburn or acid reflux? A study done in 2010 by the University of Oklahoma, more than 2/3rds of us experience some kind of discomfort during the night and 40% of these conditions disturb sleep. It is important to talk to your doctor if you suffer from heartburn, indigestion or acid reflux night after night, because it may lead to other health issues; like cancer.

12. As with any condition, having trouble with sleeping could be caused by an underlying health issue; like sleep apnea which is an interruption of breathing while asleep which increases your chances of gaining weight. Treating sleep apnea can be enough to help you lose weight and losing weight is enough to treat sleep apnea.

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Getting enough sleep not only helps you to lose weight it also helps you to be more productive and allows you to have the energy you need to maintain your weight during the day. Some believe that not only should we get a good night’s rest we also need to speed up our metabolism and balance blood sugar levels that let our recovery hormones burn stored fat. Honey has the ability to fuel our liver because it contains fructose and glucose that can do just that. The The Hibernation Diet uses honey to help us lose weight while we sleep and aides in sleep, period. Do you wake up during the night? Suffer from night sweats? Experience acid reflux? Get up to go to the bathroom during the night? Wake up still tired? Get leg cramps during the night or wake with a dry throat? If you answered yes to any of these questions, the Hibernation Diet maybe what you need.

The Hibernation Diet’s creator, a British pharmacist and a sports nutritionist, emphasize on giving your body “the right fuel to work with.” This could mean that the Hibernation Diet, coupled with a sensible calorie-count diet, could work to your advantage, especially if your chosen calories come from healthy food such as whole wheat products and grains, fruits, vegetables, fish, and meat in reasonable portion sizes. After all, we are not talking about honey as a miracle cure, but something to aid your body while you sleep.

Two to three spoonfuls of honey can be taken in mixed with a warm glass of milk, tea or in milk toast. When starting a new diet it is advised to consult with your physician to ensure that you will not encounter any adverse effects to any other medical issues. If you’re on a calorie-count diet, the calorie content of one tablespoon of honey is roughly 65 calories (calories found on the bottle/jar). That is 1 1/4th more than a teaspoon of granulated sugar.

The content in Weight Loss Tip SLEEP is for information purposes only, intended to raise the awareness of different solutions for your sleep problems and should not be considered medical advice. For medical diagnosis and treatment, please see your qualified health-care professional.