by Michael Skinner

Created on: November 11, 2009   Last Updated: August 19, 2010

Sleep Eating

What your mother always told you about how it was bad for you to eat before you go to bed maybe true. Not only could those excess calories make you fat but if you are having trouble sleeping then your body will have a diminished capacity to metabolize glucose. Repeated and prolonged sleeping problems which include either not sleeping long enough or waking often could lead to type 2 diabetes.

If you look at a lot of sleep research you will see a great deal of speculation about why we need to sleep and even why we dream. The bottom line appears to be that we are more alert, higher functioning, and healthier when we get a good night's sleep.

In fact a good night's sleep is so important that those who can should disconnect themselves from the electronic universe of cell phones and black berries when they sleep. Unless you are a fireman/brain surgeon, most things will keep until the morning.

One of the more interesting things that were discovered in sleep studies is that part of the weight gain that some people experience as they age, may be due to the fact that they sleep less. When younger people were deprived of sleep, their ability to use insulin and metabolize sugar looked as inefficient as people much older.

Best Practices

Not all doctors agree on what is best to do before you sleep but there some general points of agreement.

Sleep when you sleep. In other words, don't have a TV or even a read a book in bed. Train your self to use the bed for sleeping and to perform other activities elsewhere. Try to avoid anything that is too intellectually stimulating right before bed. Don't do String Theory or your Taxes right before bed time. Some folks find warm milk helps them to feel sleepy. If you are too anxious or jumpy when you are trying to sleep or if you toss or turn too much then the answer might be rather obvious. You need more exercise during the daylight hours. You need to get tired so that you can rest. Find some sort of sport hobby that lets you burn off those extra calories or that excess energy. Take up tennis, or bike riding or swimming.

Nighty Night

Contrary to what were taught as children, some doctors suggest a high protein snack and a little bit of fruit right before bed. They claim that this will stimulate the tryptophan and allow you to fall asleep faster.

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