Sleep Better AND Lose Weight!

I am forever talking to people about the importance of sleep when it comes to their overall health and fitness. I believe that the very foundation of our overall health and wellness is dependent equally on three things:

1. Our movement
2. Our nutrient intake
3. Our rest and recovery

Sleep is the epitome of rest and recovery.

I’ve talked before about some of the things we can do to get a better night’s sleep, and I’ve talked about how restricting sleep has been shown to cause weight gain.  I recently came across yet another study that shows sleep-deprived people tend to eat upwards of 500+ extra calories over well-rested people every day!

You need to burn a deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat. The math in that suggests that in order to lose 1 pound of fat, all you need to do is sleep well for 7 days!

Now we know that the math doesn’t always match the actual results.  We know that there is a lot more involved in weight gain and loss than just sleeping better. But we also know that every little thing we do helps us move closer towards our goals. Every effort, no matter how big or small gets us there quicker.  Imagine if you slept better every night! Among having countless other health benefits, this is actually a weight-loss tool that costs you nothing.  You can do it for yourself. It is available to just about every single one of us. Why don’t we take advantage of it?

Today, however, I don’t really want to talk about that. What I want to do is share one more tip I’ve learned and have been implementing in my own life.  Many of you know I was a medicated insomniac for years so sleep hygiene is something I am very passionate about, and am forever working on improving.

Here’s the tip

To get a better night’s sleep, in addition to reducing light in the evening as so many of us already know we should do, you need high doses of bright light (both blue and yellow – sunlight is ideal) early in the morning, around sunrise if your intent is to wake up at about that time. Our circadian rhythms depend on it.  If you live in a place that offers bight daylight, get outside and bathe in that light for at least 5 or 10 minutes each morning. Make it a morning ritual. You can light-bathe through a window if you want, but since windows filter some properties of light it will take much, much longer and you’ll have to sit there for an extended period of time. Go outside if you can.

If you, like me, get up before sunrise and intend to keep it that way, sit under bright, bright lights.  I drink my morning coffee and do my reading under a full spectrum happy lamp for this purpose but you don’t need anything special.  Florescent lights or ring lights will work too.  Just get yourself under bright lights early in the day.  And as the day progresses and turns to the evening, expose yourself to less and less light.  We all should know by now the importance of reducing screen time at least a few hours before bed. If you’re not yet doing this, it’s a practice worth implementing too.

If you’re interested in the science behind this; if you want to understand how light affects our hormones which affect our sleep-wake cycles I highly recommend you listen to this podcast by Andrew Huberman. This is my newest favourite podcast, by the way.

Sleep well, my friends!

I help busy professional women who struggle with nutrition and fitness silence their inner daemons and get healthy, so they can love the way they feel in their own skin and gain the confidence they need to conquer the rest of their lives.

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