Sleeping better can help you keep New Year's resolutions, doctor says
Ryan Rumbolt | CBC News | Posted: January 2, 2018 6:08 PM | Last Updated: January 2, 2018
Getting a better sleep can help the body regulate hormones to curb your appetite and eat better
While most people are resolving to eat better or go to the gym more often this year, a certified sleep specialist says getting a few more z's is one way to stick to your New Year's goals.
Dr. Chris Winter, a neurologist, sleep specialist and author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep is Broken and How to Fix It, says getting the right amount of sleep can help your body regulate the production of certain chemicals that make us crave unhealthy foods or suppresses our appetite.
Winter says the recommended eight hours of sleep a night is only an average and different people require different amounts of rest. He suggests adding 15 to 20 minutes to your nightly sleep schedule is a great way to start increasing your rest time.
Here a few tips Winter shared with to the Calgary Eyeopener to get you to nod off and help meet your fitness goals.
Sleep and your diet
Winter says sticking to a healthy sleep cycle can help you stick to a healthy diet.
When a person isn't sleeping as much as they should or not sleeping properly, Winter says our brain "literally tries to eat yourself awake."
"When we're not getting enough sleep we make more of a chemical called ghrelin," Winter said. "Ghrelin make us crave carbohydrates, fats; things that give us quick energy."
Winter says these foods appeal to "the sleepy brain" and are "anything that you'd find in a gas station convenience store."
On the other side of the hunger hormone spectrum is a chemical called leptin, which Winter says makes us feel full. Not getting enough sleep can suppress the production of leptin and leaves people wanting "to eat more of foods we shouldn't be eating," Winter says.
Set a bedtime alarm
Winter says adding a bedtime reminder to your phone or alarm clock can help you start your bedtime routine, stick to a sleep schedule and reduce those sleep-related food cravings.
"It's amazing how many times people will tell you they just lose track of time at night," Winter said. "They get wrapped up in a Netflix episode they're watching, or e-mails they're writing and all of a sudden they look at the phone and it's almost midnight."
He says using a bedtime alarm can be a helpful part of your nightly routine, especially for people who live alone. It also works as a self-induced guilt trip, Winter says, reminding you that every minute spent online or watching TV is one less minute of sleep.
Put away the phone
Light from screens on smartphones and tablets in the bedroom can keep you from falling asleep and staying asleep. Too much screen time has been also shown to increases stress levels and affects sleep cycles in kids and young adults.
Winter says plugging in your phone "somewhere other than our bedroom" will help you avoid being woken up prematurely by texts, emails and alerts.
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With files from the Calgary Eyeopener