Sleep is Essential!

You can try counting calories and spend extra time at the gym, but if you’re not sleeping well, your efforts to lose weight or get healthy will stall. I’m Wendy Corr, with your daily wellness tip!

If you’ve ever spent a sleepless night, you know how much that hampers your ability to function the next day. But you might not know that getting enough sleep is crucial for weight loss, too!

When you’re not getting enough sleep it elevates your cortisol levels, which causes insulin resistance – and insulin is the fat making hormone.  So when you have elevated levels of insulin, your body goes into steady fat making mode, and after a period of time you begin to lose the ability to burn fat.

Researchers at the University of Chicago found that dieters who were well rested lost more fat than those who were sleep deprived, and those subjects who got less sleep felt more hungry.

But of course, weight is just one of the ways that not getting enough sleep can negatively impact your health!

If you aren’t sleeping well, your brain doesn’t have the time to do necessary clean up work – which means that you’ll have difficulties with memory, focus and cognitive functioning. And think about this – the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported in 2009 that being tired accounted for the highest number of fatal single-car run-off-the-road crashes due to the driver’s performance—even more than alcohol!

So, sleep is critical to your health. But what should you do if you just don’t sleep well?

If you’re someone who has trouble falling asleep, or staying asleep, here are a few tips that can help.

First, avoid stimulation before bedtime. Try not to look at cell phone, TV or computer screens for at least 2 hours before going to bed. Second, stretch your body and focus on slow, deep breathing. Aromatherapy also works well– diffusing certain essential oils like lavender or cedarwood can induce a relaxed state and help you to fall asleep.

Thanks for tuning in to Wellness with Wendy! I love sharing tips and tricks on how to live your best life! For more health news you can use, check out my blog on mybighornbasin.com. See you again next time for Wellness With Wendy!