One of the most challenging things to achieve in today’s technology-driven world is maintaining a reasonable balance between a busy work schedule and a healthy active lifestyle. We may be paying more for a lack of sleep than we know.
Poor sleep, failing nutrition and excess weight are chief results of working life and modern lifestyle patterns worldwide. Individuals and families are heavily affected by current trends which sometimes translate into various avoidable ailments.
Several studies have shown that reduced sleep time is associated with higher energy intake. In fact, one study showed that lack of sleep has led to the intake of 385 additional kilocalories per day, without energy expenditure compensation.
Many characteristics of the modern lifestyle may be the reason for frenetic sleeping patterns. Our bodies are armed with a so called ‘internal clock’ that, among others things, regulates the wake-sleep daily cycle. With light being one of the main external stimuli for this clock, our bodies are prepared to rest during night-time and be active during daylight. Excessive use of electronic media, altered exposure to light, and repeated changes in your daily lifestyle routine are some of the reasons for issues with sleep. In addition, some habits like smoking, alcohol consumption, excess of caffeine intake (especially late at night), or even exercising at the wrong time might worsen sleep duration and sleep quality. An average adult should get between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per day.
Science suggests that the relationship between sleep quality and excess weight might be bidirectional, which means that insufficient sleep is causing weight gain which means that obesity is causing impaired sleep. Here are a few reasons why.
In comparison with people that have normal sleep duration, those ones with shorter sleep duration do not only consume more calories in total, but they also consume more calories at night. Higher food intake late at night may be a reason behind lack of sleep. Food intake and nutritional status have also been linked to sleep reduction and daytime sleepiness. Currently, the evidence suggests a bidirectional relationship between sleep quality, duration and diet.
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