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Sleep is an integral part of your daily lifestyle, as it is required in rejuvenating the healthy functioning of your mind and body. Sleep apnea related to obesity is quite common in today’s scenario. Sleep apnea is a disorder which includes sleep-related breathing disorder that leads individuals to repeatedly stop breathing during sleep. Not only it affects one’s quality of sleep, but it can also lead to health risks such as stroke, heart attack, congestive heart failure and excessive daytime sleepiness. In obese or overweight individuals sleep apnea is quite often because of compromised respiratory function when an individual’s trunk and neck area increase or lined with extra fat.
Usually, these kind of people are less motivated to diet or exercise because of daytime sleepiness as it lowers their energy levels and makes it difficult to commit to an exercise and/or diet program. Sleep deprivation also inhibit weight loss process – even while exercising and eating well. A study in 1999, proved restricting sleep to just 4 hours per night for a week brought healthy young adults to the point of metabolic disorders.
Exercise and sleep
Exercise is certainly good for one’s body and health, proper timing of exercise is necessary to maximize the beneficial effects. For example, a good workout is better to make you active and enthusiastic for your whole day. But doing exercise right before bedtime can lead to a poor night’s sleep. Experts recommends to exercise at least three hours before bedtime. Exercising is more likely related to your body temperature, which increases while doing exercise. This take as long as 6 hours to drop. As sleep is associated with cooler body temperature, it’s important to allow the body time to cool off before sleep.
Perfect breathing exercise and sleeping posture can induce good sleep by reducing the stress. For example 4-7-8 breathing technique (inhaling for 4 sec, than hold for 7 sec and exhale for 8 sec), Bhramari pranayama or Alternate nasal breathing exercise.
Severe or loud snoring are also one of the sign of sleep apnea which is also associated with high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. The way/position you sleep matters a lot. Based on the studies, people with sleep apnea slept better on their sides than on there back and were more wakeful the next day.
Diet and sleep
There is a vicious cycle in case of sleep apnea – the more tired you are, the more caffeine you’ll consume. This makes harder for your to fall asleep at night. In fact they are also loaded with sugar or artificial sugar and preservatives. In case of people with gastro-esophageal reflux (GERD), commonly known as acid reflux, diet and sleep go hand-in-hand. Those individuals with GERD often suffer from nighttime acidity/ heartburn.
Food is also related to sleep for good appetite and metabolism. As per the studies, people with insomnia are more likely to have bigger appetites due to the fact that their leptin levels (leptin is an appetite regulating hormone) fall, promoting appetite increase. This act like a link between appetite and sleep claiming that sleep and obesity are inter-linked.
There are few of food groups that induces sleep and weight reduction for example drinking chamomile tea, lettuce, barley grass powder, fish, kiwi fruit, warm milk etc. Moreover, Tryptophan is also used by your body to make Serotonin, which helps you sleep restfully. We should focus on eating foods with high levels of tryptophan and healthy carbs because they will help calm your brain, rather than make it more active. These foods are also referred to as “snooze foods”. For a restful night’s sleep, shoot for an early evening meal and a before-bed snack comprised of snooze foods. Here is a list of some snooze foods to store in your kitchen for when you need to wind down at night:
-Beans
-Hummus
-Lentils
-Whole Grains
-Almonds
-Pecan
-Eggs
-Pumpkin Seeds
-Sunflower Seeds
