The Practical Nutritionist, LLC

Audrey J Pellegrino, M. Ed, M.HN,CNW®

Nationally board Certified Nutritional Wellness

Holistic Nutritionist/Educator

603-768-3214

practicalnutrition@gmail.com

www.pnutritionist.com

YAWN! Another article to Read

This month marks two years since I began writing a monthly article. I am often amazed at the amount of nutritional and health information that comes out and gives me inspiration for my articles. I often use the evenings to catch up on my reading, and quite honestly I usually fall asleep doing it, and have to reread it again when I am more fully awake. The book which helps me to fall asleep quickest is ironically, a text book on the healing properties of sleep.

We tend to think of sleep as something that we can catch up on later, or that we can learn to manage to do with less of it. What many of us do not realize is that we are accumulating a sleep debt that rival’s the government’s national debt. And our health and weight may be paying the price. Leptin is a hormone that signals the body to stop eating and is produced by the body during sleep. During periods of sleep deprivation low leptin levels tell the brain there is a shortage of food and increases our appetite. I know that at my heaviest, I was a nurse working “swing shifts” and I would end up eating an extra meal a day or snack from 3 to 5 AM just to stay awake, and I always felt hungry.

Part of a sleep smart lifestyle is to ask yourself questions and take stock of current behaviors and patterns and look for ways that they can be changed to improve your health and sleep and consequently your weight.

Do you drink alcohol and caffeine before bedtime? Caffeine has a half life between three to seven hours and to counteract the stimulating effect it can have on the body, and therefore your sleep, it should not be consumed in the evening. It needs time to fully be removed from your system. This may help in reducing over stimulation, which may be a cause of restless sleep or an inability to fall asleep. Alcohol can help you fall asleep as it can have a relaxing effect on you, but too much alcohol can cause you to wake throughout the night when it wears off and cause insomnia.

Do you Exercise? Exercise before bedtime can cause that overstimulation that you would want to avoid, yet exercise in the afternoon or earlier in the day, on a regular basis, can affect the biological clock and contribute to a healthier sleep pattern.

What do you eat before you retire? Eating certain foods can release hormones that contribute to a healthier sleep pattern. It is often said that the best bedtime snack is one that has both complex carbohydrates and protein, and perhaps some calcium. Calcium helps the brain use the tryptophan to manufacture melatonin, which produces the calm effect you want for good sleep. This could explain why the old adage to drink a glass of warm milk before bedtime still helps many people. Examples might be apple crisp with a small scoop of ice cream, whole grain cereal with milk, or a peanut butter sandwich with ground sesame seeds. I frequently advise my clients not to eat three hours before bedtime, because it takes one hour for the tryptophan in the foods to reach the brain, so you need time to make that calming melatonin.

A healthier weight and a healthier you could be just a few nights sleep away.