Sleep disorders affect not only sleep quality and duration, but also glucose metabolism and weight regulation.
Lack of regular sleep is associated with the following:
An increase in insulin resistance
An increase in appetite and a stronger urge to eat non-nutritious foods
An increase in blood pressure
Makes it harder to lose weight
Impairs the immune system and its ability to fight infections
Increases the risk of depression and anxiety
Increase in developing Type 2 Diabetes
In order to combat these issues we need to develop and practice good sleep hygiene!
You will be supporting your body in so many ways!!! Here are some ideas that you can try to incorporate today.
Kick start your circadian rhythm first thing in the morning by getting sunlight on your eyes as soon as you can in the morning for 10-30 minutes. You can sit near a window or better yet get outside and go for a walk, or just sit out there and sip some coffee! This is because once light hits your retina, the light is then transmitted to your suprachiasmatic nucleus and on to the pineal gland. This is the area where serotonin is synthesized into melatonin.
It is also good for hormone production to get as much natural light during the day as possible. So if you can, again, get outside during the day, eat lunch outside during the day, go for a brisk walk, whatever it is that you can fit in, to get natural light.
At the end of the day, do your best to avoid blue light from screens on your phone, laptop, etc. You can do this by being off your devices, or if you need to be on them, make sure you have an app that can remove the blue light or wear blue light blockers.
Avoid caffeine late in the day.
Sleep in a cool, dark room. Cover your windows with blackout curtains, get a sleep mask, cover your clock, turn your phone on “Do not disturb.”
Magnesium can help with sleep - the forms that are best for sleep are magnesium Glycinate, Malate and Threonate. They can all help with sleep quality and can be taken at any point during the day. There are other supplements that can support sleep, but I will cover that in another post.
One last tip is using a tracker to assess how well you are actually sleeping. I am loving my OURA ring and have found this tracker is quite accurate and measures the different stages of your sleep, your heart rate and heart rate variability, body temperature, recovery index, and can help you make assessments based on your activity level and sleep. I just received this code to receive $50 off for the first five people who are interested. Sleep better today!
#functionalnutrition #everythingmatters #allthingsareconnected #sleephygiene #insulinresistance #glucosemetabolism #weightmanagement #weightregulation #bloodpressure #healthyhabits #liveyourbestlife
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