People getting less than seven hours of shut-eye have higher ghrelin levels than leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone made in the stomach to tell the brain it is hungry. Conversely, leptin tells the brain no food is needed.
Those sleeping less than seven hours have been shown to gain more weight and have trouble losing weight. This goes for kids, too, not just adults. This seven hour mark seems to be the magic mark, as adults sleeping less than that are shown to have less pre-frontal cortex activity in the brain. This could account for impulsive behavior when sleep deprived.
Sleep deprivation also speeds up the aging process. No one needs to hurry that along.
What is a hungry, impulsive, tired person to do?
Increasing the amount of hours of quality sleep is imperative. Seven hours seems to be the magic number of hours needed to regulate normal biological and neurological activities. Many factors go into ensuring the seven-hour goal is met.
- Set up a regular bedtime ritual. Partaking of the same behaviors, at the same times each night, may help to prepare you, both mentally and physically, for sleep. Meditation, yoga, tai chi, prayer – these things can all help to calm brain activities and increase relaxation.
- Avoid heavy meals rich in proteins and fats prior to bedtime. These types of food may increase the incidence of heartburn, acid reflux, and/or GERD. These conditions can wake you up.
- Stay away from caffeine in your afternoons. Consuming caffeine, the stimulant in coffee and some chocolates, sodas, and teas, later in the day may keep you awake.
- Make sure you eat a well balanced diet. The nutrients lycopene, vitamin C, and selenium have all been found aid in sleep. Lycopene is found in red foods, like tomatoes; vitamin C is found in citrus and other fruits and also peppers; and good sources of selenium are some tree nuts (Brazil nuts, etc), tuna, sardines and grass-fed beef.
