Importance of Sleep

I want to discuss the importance of sleep and how a lack of it may impact your food behaviorsWhen you don’t get enough sleep, your internal clock (aka your circadian rhythm) gets thrown out of balanceWhen your internal clock is out of balance, so are your hormones, blood sugar, and brain function, which can all impact your eating habits1. The hormones that affect your hunger are known as ghrelin and leptin

• Ghrelin is the hunger hormone that’s produced when your body needs energy. Once it’s released in your body, it sends signals to your brain to tell you you’re hungry
• Leptin is the hormone that’s produced when your body has had enough energy from food and it’s the hormone that makes you feel satisfied or full

When you don’t get enough sleep, these hormones become out of whack. Ghrelin will be overproduced and leptin will be underproduced.. Meaning you will feel hungry more frequently and it will be harder to satisfy that hunger2. Research shows that not getting enough sleep can cause people to have high and unstable blood sugars. High blood sugars lead to cravings, even when you aren’t truly hungry, so you may overeat when you haven’t had enough sleep3. Not getting enough sleep impacts your ability to think and make decisions. Because of this, you are much more likely to go for food that is quick and easy to make over a balanced meal you may have to prepareI encourage you to start making sleep a priority if it isn’t already because it affects so many parts of your lifeYou can start today by taking a nap in honor of national napping day 😌