Sleep loss makes you fat: study

[casual_cyclist]

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1797 ... -fat-study

Scientists say they have found evidence that a lack of sleep causes changes in brain activity that lead to people feeling hungrier and craving more fattening foods.

I saw a news article on this and the researcher also pointed out that sleep deprivation leads to (I thought) changes to glucose sensitivity but she could have said glucose tolerance or insulin sensitivity. Either way, research indicates that:

Because sleep itself modulates glucose tolerance and homeostasis, changes in the quantity or quality of sleep may affect glucose tolerance. ... This article reviews the growing body of experimental and epidemiologic evidence linking sleep loss and sleep disturbance with alterations in glucose homeostasis.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2697035/

The link to cycling is that cycling may improve both quantity and quality of sleep. Over the past 2 months or so, I have had problems sleeping properly in terms of: going to sleep late (no related to the time I go to bed), not sleeping deeply, trouble waking up and feeling tired all day. I just had 2 weeks leave and tried going to bed earlier, say between 11 and 12 but found I was awake until 2 or 3. It's frustrating being tired but not able to sleep. I was trying to find the reference to sleep and glucose and stumbled across an article in wikipedia about delayed sleep phase disorder. Naturally, I have diagnosed myself with mild delayed sleep phase disorder. According to Dr Google, I must have it

Either way, it does seem worse when the days are shorter. Linking to the above article, since I have been sleeping less and feeling more tired I have: eaten more high energy foods that I usually would (especially chocolate) and have put on about 4 kg. Maybe I should cycle more.

[toolonglegs]

Add in all the coffee you drink while skipping breakfast

[casual_cyclist]

Add in all the coffee you drink while skipping breakfast

I was led to believe that one small coffee a day isn't excessive. I further note that for the 2 weeks that I was on leave that I did not have any caffeine of any kind and that my sleep was significantly worse.

[toolonglegs]

Withdrawal symptoms

I read somewhere that sleep deprivation actually changes you on a genetic level... so no surprise it affects lots of things.

[find_bruce]

& the negative feedback loop is that being overweight is a prime cause of sleep aponea, which in turn causes sleep loss, which ...

[casual_cyclist]

Withdrawal symptoms

In a study published in 2004, Johns Hopkins University researchers found that the onset of caffeine withdrawal occurred within 12 to 24 hours of stopping caffeine dosing. The peak withdrawal symptoms occurred in one to two days. The researchers found that the symptoms were gone within from two to nine days. The intensity of the symptoms was proportional to the daily dose of caffeine.

I would have thought that withdrawal from one coffee a day (strict), five days a week (strict), would have subsided within 14 days.

symptoms of caffeine withdrawal include fatigue, drowsiness, headache, depression, irritability, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, nausea, vomiting and muscle pain or stiffness.

I didn't have any of these symptoms after quitting coffee. I would not describe how I felt as fatigue or drowsiness and I didn't have insomnia as that includes inability to fall asleep or to stay asleep as long as desired. I don't have an inability to fall asleep, I have an inability to fall asleep at the time I want to (i.e. around 11) and I don't have any problems staying asleep. I generally go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. It's just that those times don't fit in that well with a 9 to 5 job.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/39932 ... z2bGdtMbZz" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I read somewhere that sleep deprivation actually changes you on a genetic level... so no surprise it affects lots of things.

The worst thing for me is wanting calorie dense foods, especially chocolate. Before I went on leave, I was eating a 65g kit kat every afternoon for a "snack". That is 328 calories or 1370 kilojoules. Quite an energy hit.

While I was on leave, I quit chocolate and coffee and started snacking on fruit again (which I prefer). I also went for a morning walk and lunch time walk in the sun.

Now I am back at work I have one small coffee in the morning, no dessert with lunch and I have replaced a chocolate bar with fruit for an afternoon snack. To resolve my chocolate "want" issues, I buy enough fruit for the week and leave it on my desk. There are two reasons for this. 1) If I have my snack ready to go, I won't be bothered wandering down the road to buy chocolate and 2) I am looking at the fruit all day, so when it is time to snack, that is what I want. It does make it easier that a nice juicy orange is MUCH tastier than a sickly caramel kit kat. Since implementing this, I do feel better. It will be interesting to see if I get a corresponding improvement in my sleep times.

[toolonglegs]

I quit coffee nearly 3 months ago ... didn't find it hard at all going from 3 or 4 a day to nothing. I was going to take it before races but I have never felt better so skipped that idea as well.
At the same time I quit quite a lot of other things including chocolate... have only slipped a couple of times and it wouldn't add up to even one bar so not too bad.
The biggest surprise for me is the binge cravings have gone totally... don't know what to put it down to though as I changed so many things at once!.

[g-boaf]

Withdrawal symptoms

I read somewhere that sleep deprivation actually changes you on a genetic level... so no surprise it affects lots of things.

I used to have those. Wake up late on Saturday and have a huge headache, which goes after you have a coffee. Not any more. I've gone off coffee completely - none in 3 weeks. Headaches have stopped too, along with the stomach problems I used to have.

I also find that bike riding makes me sleep better. But overall I just feel better.

[RonK]

Start getting up at 5am every morning and putting in a brisk hour long ride. You won't have any trouble sleeping I guarantee. You'll be in bed by 9pm.

[casual_cyclist]

Start getting up at 5am every morning and putting in a brisk hour long ride. You won't have any trouble sleeping I guarantee. You'll be in bed by 9pm.

Actually, that's a good idea when it stops storming so much. I don't mind getting up early and going for a ride when it's not storming outside. And come to think of it I did sleep a lot better when I did it. It's a bit miserable to set off in the rain at that time of day though. Hopefully the weather will pick up next week.

[ZepinAtor]

This......>>>>>>

Now I am back at work I have one small coffee in the morning, no dessert with lunch and I have replaced a chocolate bar with fruit for an afternoon snack. To resolve my chocolate "want" issues, I buy enough fruit for the week and leave it on my desk. There are two reasons for this. 1) If I have my snack ready to go, I won't be bothered wandering down the road to buy chocolate and 2) I am looking at the fruit all day, so when it is time to snack, that is what I want. It does make it easier that a nice juicy orange is MUCH tastier than a sickly caramel kit kat. Since implementing this, I do feel better. It will be interesting to see if I get a corresponding improvement in my sleep times.

I'll be very very blunt,

Your diet does not look good.

If you're serious about good health, weight loss & sustained sleep, chocolate/coffee, should not even exist in ones diet period IMO. Satiety & sanity go hand in hand & I feel once you have a good balance of both (every body has different needs & tastes) you can easily alter your weight & food consumption. Food is not the only factor in good sleep patterns though & there are other equally important factors to consider.

An alkaline diet & "lifestyle" will aid in good health & hopefully a satisfying nights sleep.This may sound like witchcraft & fairy dust, but have you considered lifestyle factors ?

Meditation
Prayer (not necessarily religious)
Peace
Kindness
Love

Have you heard about the 80%/20% Alkaline/acid diet ? Alkaline or acid forming describes mineral ash residue after metabolism. Citrus tastes acidic but leaves an alkaline residue. The fresher & sweeter the food tastes the higher the alkalinity. A few examples of very alkaline foods are -lemons, watermelon, wheat grass juice & most fruits & vegetables. Acid forming foods are most meats, flour (white wheat), sugar (white), refined table salt, alcohol, white rice (I'm sure you're seeing the pattern here). Chewing each mouthful 40 times increases alkalinity of grains.

Create peaceful meal times.
Give thanks for the food you consume.(I don't do this often enough)
Chew & insalivate your food well. (I don't do this often enough either)
Avoid iced water with meals.
Start every meal with 4 mouthfuls of raw veges or sprouts.
Make good food combinations.

I'm always striving to achieve better results in relation to this diet theory (80%/20%) Alkalinity/Acidity & believe from personal results that this diet has very good merits including the lifestyle factors listed above. The more I implement these changes the better I feel. Starting the day with a very chewy seed rich breakfast cereal (Pura Veda) with oat milk & taking 20 minutes to consume it has had great results for me over the past 2 years. I feel full & satisfied for at least 5 hours only snacking occasionally on a very small quantity of raw mixed nuts & or fruit.

I could rave on for ever, but I'm sure you're getting the jest of what I'm saying.

[singlespeedscott]

No cold water with dinner

[RonK]

I could rave on for ever, but I'm sure you're getting the jest of what I'm saying.

Yep - I got it...very droll.

[casual_cyclist]

This......>>>>>>

Now I am back at work I have one small coffee in the morning, no dessert with lunch and I have replaced a chocolate bar with fruit for an afternoon snack. To resolve my chocolate "want" issues, I buy enough fruit for the week and leave it on my desk. There are two reasons for this. 1) If I have my snack ready to go, I won't be bothered wandering down the road to buy chocolate and 2) I am looking at the fruit all day, so when it is time to snack, that is what I want. It does make it easier that a nice juicy orange is MUCH tastier than a sickly caramel kit kat. Since implementing this, I do feel better. It will be interesting to see if I get a corresponding improvement in my sleep times.

I'll be very very blunt,

Your diet does not look good.

You can tell I have a bad diet from me saying that I quit chocolate and eat fruit instead? You're amazing!

If you're serious about good health, weight loss & sustained sleep, chocolate/coffee, should not even exist in ones diet period IMO. Satiety & sanity go hand in hand & I feel once you have a good balance of both (every body has different needs & tastes) you can easily alter your weight & food consumption. Food is not the only factor in good sleep patterns though & there are other equally important factors to consider.

Thanks Zep. Here is the interesting thing. Before winter hit, my weight was right, my appetite was good, food selection was really good, my sleep was good, my energy levels were great and my mood was great! However, since winter hit, my appetite is out of control, my food has deteriorated, sleep onset has been delayed, my energy levels are low and my mood is pretty ordinary and has been for most of winter. I have a feeling that this is seasonal and temporary. I have done lots of things to address this and nothing has made any difference. Anyway, I am committed to continuing to eat healthy food, even if I don't feel better in the short term. For me, that means lots of veggies, fruit, nuts, legumes, rice occasionaly, wholemeal flour rarely, minimal refined sugar, no chocolate. It will be interesting to see if things pick up in September.

[ZepinAtor]

OK I take that back. Your diet sounds very good, although the talk of coffee & chocolate are poison to my ears.

Seasonal depression is a well known & documented condition. It's good that you have recognised it & I'd have to admit I to have suffered the same condition. The outcome for me is a little different to yours as my food doesn't suffer only my motivation. I seem to get stuck in a never ending repetitive loop procrastinating over & over, eventually concluding with the obvious realization of all the things I shoulda, coulda, woulda achieved if only...........sigh.

I've taken some reasonably drastic measures over the past 2-3 years to combat this condition & have almost halved the occurrence or lessened the severity. Sounds like you have a battle on your hands & I wish you the best of luck finding a solution.

Zep

[toolonglegs]

Dropped off one of the kids to stay overnight and a friends yesterday and was asked if I wanted a coffee... just said yes by instinct . Oh well one won't break the bank. Didn't feel much off it... just needed a pee.

[Leiothrix]

& the negative feedback loop is that being overweight is a prime cause of sleep aponea, which in turn causes sleep loss, which ...

Just to be totally pedantic, it's actually a positive feedback loop, even if you don't like the end result.

Positive feedback means it builds upon itself, negative feedback is a self-limiting system.

[casual_cyclist]

OK I take that back. Your diet sounds very good, although the talk of coffee & chocolate are poison to my ears.

Seasonal depression is a well known & documented condition. It's good that you have recognised it & I'd have to admit I to have suffered the same condition. The outcome for me is a little different to yours as my food doesn't suffer only my motivation. I seem to get stuck in a never ending repetitive loop procrastinating over & over, eventually concluding with the obvious realization of all the things I shoulda, coulda, woulda achieved if only...........sigh.

I've taken some reasonably drastic measures over the past 2-3 years to combat this condition & have almost halved the occurrence or lessened the severity. Sounds like you have a battle on your hands & I wish you the best of luck finding a solution.

Zep

After eating fruit for a week in place of where I would have eaten chocolate before my break, chocolate is definitely off the menu for good.

In terms of the winter thing... it happens at the same time every year but this year is the worst it has been for me. My plan for this year is just to make it through but plan better for it next year. Compared to 3 months ago when my energy levels were good, my motivation was high and my mood was fine, my energy levels are extremely low, motivation is close to zero and my mood is very ordinary. I will plan better next year and put things in place to make sure I have a better winter. If that doesn't work, I might have to consider these: http://re-timer.com/au/

more info here: http://re-timer.com/au/how-it-works/winter-blues/

http://sleepclinicmelbourne.com.au/slee ... tment.html

[casual_cyclist]

& the negative feedback loop is that being overweight is a prime cause of sleep aponea, which in turn causes sleep loss, which ...

Just to be totally pedantic, it's actually a positive feedback loop, even if you don't like the end result.

Positive feedback means it builds upon itself, negative feedback is a self-limiting system.

In terms of the concept of feedback exacerbating the problem though, I wouldn't underestimate it. A person may feel tired and so eat energy dense foods to feel better. If the food spikes their blood glucose and insulin which results in a blood glucose drop over time they may feel hungry and want to eat again before they should. Depending on what they choose to eat next, they may be setting themselves up for another spike/crash cycle. All of this can lead to overconsuming energy, resulting in fat storage. As pointed out above, being overweight can cause poor sleep, leaving the person feeling tired enough to repeat the whole thing the next day.

I understand that people make worse food choices when tired but then those foods have an impact which may drive appetite. My own experiment this week indicates that if my one afternoon snack is chocolate, I will want to eat before dinner but if my one afternoon snack is an apple and an orange, I won't want to eat before dinner. Either way, I still feel tired but by eating fruit I keep my appetite under control. Lack of sleep is part of the equation but how you choose to respond to feeling tired will have a big impact on what happens next.

[toolonglegs]

I have a winter issue as well... I always aim to start CX season 5 kgs lighter but always end up starting 5 kgs heavier!.
Maybe the reason is that most years I diet hard from March onwards ( too late really to start but I just can't get the motivation to start in the middle of winter! ) ... by the end of August as the road season is ending and goals are all done and dusted, motivation starts to wane and the km's go down and the kilos go up.
I am hoping this year that it will be easier / different as I haven't dieted at all this year, just changed my diet!.

[kb]

I will plan better next year and put things in place to make sure I have a better winter. If that doesn't work, I might have to consider these: http://re-timer.com/au/

Interesting, hadn't come across that. If you're like me, and spend more time than you should in front of screens, you might want to give f.lux a go. Basically, it sets your screen to a warmer temperature in the evening which is supposed to mitigate the melatonin suppression effects. Definitely noticed a difference reading in bed. Works on the iPhone too but only if jailbroken.

[casual_cyclist]

I will plan better next year and put things in place to make sure I have a better winter. If that doesn't work, I might have to consider these: http://re-timer.com/au/

Interesting, hadn't come across that. If you're like me, and spend more time than you should in front of screens, you might want to give f.lux a go. Basically, it sets your screen to a warmer temperature in the evening which is supposed to mitigate the melatonin suppression effects. Definitely noticed a difference reading in bed. Works on the iPhone too but only if jailbroken.

That looks interesting. I will give it a go and see if it makes any difference.

[Pedaling]

5am rides certainly help me sleep, and I feel much better for it.

Another thing which has helped me to feel better mentally and pysically is Yoga. Stretching the legs, hips and body feels great after riding over 300kms a week, and I feel centered and happy. Works for me.

Hope you feeling your old self CC.

Cheers,

Darrin.

[Eleri]

I've been keeping a sleep diary recently - well sort of because I can enter it in training peaks for my coach. I've discovered that I usually only sleep about 5.5 hours, sometimes 6 sometimes a bit less. This seems to happen naturally but is more related to the amount of training I do.

It seems perverse that the more I train, the less I seem to be sleeping.

In some respects this is useful as I'm putting in about 12-15 hours a week at the moment, with a full-on, full-time job. But I am sometimes quite tired after lunch at work.

And I think I sleep more when I'm not exercising so much (although relying on memory a bit for that). I certainly put on weight then so I feel more slothful.

[casual_cyclist]

Lights Out!

Recently scientists have been discovering that exposure to artificial light at night, even the glow of a cell phone or computer screen, can throw our internal body clock out of sync with the planet and may even be leading to serious illnesses like cancer, obesity, heart disease and certain forms of depression.

http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episod ... s-out.html