In our approach to health and fitness we focus on three key factors, movement, nutrition, and recovery. We have already talked about movement and nutrition and we will return to both of those soon, but this week we are talking about recovery and more specifically, sleep.
How much are you getting and what is the quality of the sleep you are getting? If you are like most teenagers, 5 hours seems to be the norm and it is looked upon like a merit badge if you can function on less. But the truth is the price you are paying for this is high and the time that is saved by cutting sleep is often paid back in the form of disease. Several studies have shown how quickly sleep deprivation effects just about every bodily system and can contribute to stress, inflammation, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Other studies have shown the symptoms of sleep deprivation mirror those of ADD/ADHD and can lead to a misdiagnosis in teens.
Most people know this and somehow on their cost/benefit analysis still think it's worth it. Let me add one more component that may sway the scale. Lack of sleep has a strong link to an individuals ability to lose body fat. More specifically ongoing sleep deprivation has been linked to increased body fat retention and obesity. I found the following scale in an article on the web site Mercola.
The recommended amount of sleep per night is seven to nine hours; however, most Americans average somewhere around six. Researchers found that the further away one is from getting the recommended hours of sleep, the higher their risk of obesity is.
Lack of Sleep and the Obesity Connection
Less than four hours: 73 percent risk
Five hours of sleep: 50 percent risk
Six hours of sleep: 23 percent risk
A quick google search will provide you with study after study showing that lack of sleep leads to insulin resistance, decreased leptin levels (leptin is a blood protein that suppresses the appetite and helps the brain sense when you are full) and increased cortisol levels (an ugly stress hormone that among other bad things increases blood sugar). All of these processes combine to lock fat into your cells and prevent you from shedding fat and using it as an energy source.
What can you do about it? Treat sleep the same way you treat your diet. It is almost as important. Set a time to get into bed that will allow for, at the very least, 7 hours of sleep, preferably more. Make your bedroom a cool dark sanctuary. There should be only one thing going on in your bed, sleep. Watching TV, in bed, is a huge hindrance to deep sleep. Get all electrical and lighted devices away from your bed. When the lights are off, you should not be able to see your hand in front of your face. Try to standardize your schedule. If you have to get up at 5am during the week, try to make your wake-up time during the weekend not stray too far from that. Sleeping in late on the weekends will reset your circadian rhythms and have you playing catch up till Wednesday of the next week. The last few tips most of you probably already know. No coffee or any caffeinated drinks late in the day. Alcohol really screws with the sleep cycle, and again late night TV stimulates the brain and makes it harder to get to sleep.
It's a long post with a lot to think about, but for your blog this week I want you to answer 2 questions.
1. On average, how much sleep are you currently getting?
2. What are circadian rhythms?
about average i get about 7 and a half to 8 hours of sleep every day (on the weekdays) and i get more than that on weekends because i sleep in. and Circadian rhythms are like where your body or a persons body gets used to waking up at a certain time and from then on your body is able to allow you to wake up at just about that same time everyday.
ReplyDeleteI usually get around 6-7 hours of sleep on a daily basis. The circadian rhythem is the cycle of the body. It is a 24 hour period of the body and is the repeatiing cycle of activity. It can be affected by external activity.
ReplyDeleteWesley chan
I currently get 7 to 8 hrs of sleep/night.
ReplyDeleteCircadian rhythms are your regular sleep hours you get and what times you go to sleep and wake up
Kevin ROman
1. On average, how much sleep are you currently getting? 11pm to 6:40 so like 7 hours and 40 minutes.. but i usually fall asleep at like 11:30 to 12
ReplyDelete2. What are circadian rhythms?
A circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes of living entities,
deychak
I roughly get around 6 to 7hrs of sleep
ReplyDeleteCircadian rhythms is the human clock in which we have to go to sleep and wake up
1. On average, how much sleep are you currently getting?
ReplyDelete6 1/2 - 8 hours.
2. What are circadian rhythms?
Circadian rhythms are your bodies "clock" which if messed up will make you fatigued or disorientated. it is a 24 hour cycle that is constantly repeated and can be thrown off by changing the hours you sleep.
Darian Parsadoust
ReplyDelete1. On average, how much sleep are you currently getting?
6.5 to 8 hours
2. What are circadian rhythms?
They are a 24 hour cycle that constantly repeats itself in your body and can be thrown off by sleeping at different hours.
---the other comment was mine so i wrote this one too
I usually get 6 to 7 hours of sleep a night during the school week and i get about 8 to 9 on weekends. Circadian rhythms are your natural sleep patterns when you go to sleep and wake up in the mornings.
ReplyDeleteTaylor Van Neste
I currently get 5-6 hours per night on weekdays and 9-10 hours on weekends.
ReplyDeleteAnd Circadian rhythms regular rhythms of growth and activity, which occur in an approximately 24-hour cycle.
-Mitch Rampp
Kevin Lee-
ReplyDeleteI get maybe... 4-5 hours of sleep on weeknights, and 9-10 on weekends, depending on my schedule.
Circadian rhythms are cycles of the human body, when you sleep, get up, and repeat through the course of a day
1. I get about 7-8 hours of sleep a night.
ReplyDelete2. Circadian rhythms are the bodys clock to keep it on schedule. etc. when to sleep, eat, wake up
-Jack Connelly
I get about 7 hours of sleep every night even on days off. Circadian rythms are the amount of sleep and time of sleep that your body is used to, like your biological clock. This is why people with night jobs like a night guard can handle their job, their body is used to being awake at night and asleep during the day.
ReplyDeleteI get between 6.5-7.5 hours of sleep. The circadian rythms are your internal sleep clock that tries to keep your sleep schedule in order
ReplyDeletei get at least 7-8 hours of sleep.
ReplyDeleteAlso the circadian rythms are the amount of sleep and time our body uses to wake up, sleep and sometimes eat. it is like a biological clock it a human clock that determines the time your used to waking up. - Cornelius waiman
On an average weekday i get about 8 hours of sleep and on weekends around 9-11 hours. The circadian rhythm is a 24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes of living things, that acts like a biological clock.
ReplyDeleteMatthew Beinart
I usually get around 8 hours of sleep per night.
ReplyDeleteCircadian Rhythms are a 24 hour cycle that keeps track of how much sleep you are getting.
Mitchell Myers
I get between 6 and 7 hours of sleep. Circadian rythms are a 24 hour cycle within the body an example is your internal sleep clock
ReplyDelete-Mark Sokolsky
Evan Treworgy
ReplyDelete1. I sleep 5 to 10 hours a night.
2. Circadian rythms are a cycle that reapts with sleep.