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?
I usually sleep about 8 hours per night. Circadian rhythm is the cycling 24 hour period of human biological activity.
ReplyDelete-Eric Lee
I get about 8 hours of sleep a night and circadian rhythms is like your biological or internal clock, roughly a 24hour cycle.
ReplyDeletegrimm
Mack Hollins
ReplyDeleteI get 8 1/2 hours of sleep on weekdays and about 12 on weekends, which messes up my circadian rhythm because my sleep cycle is messed up.
I am currently getting around 7 1/2 hours of sleep. Circadian rhythms are 24 hour cycles of human biological activity. They usually consist of 16 hours of being awake and 8 hours of being asleep.
ReplyDeleteMatt Bourne
I usually sleep between 5 and 7 hours a night. Circadian Rhythms are your body's internal clock allowing you to wake up and be able to perform tasks at certain times and sleep again at a set time.
ReplyDelete-Micah Johnstone
1. I usuall get around 8 hours of sleep every night
ReplyDelete2. Circadian rhythm ia a 24-hour cycle of a behavoral process
-Jordan Weissberg
On average i get about 8.5 hours of sleep. Circadium rythm is sort of like a routine that your brain and body follows everyday.
ReplyDeleteMichael Castelli
Usually i get hours 7 of sleep on week days and 10-12 on weekends. The Circadian rhythm is the cycling 24 hour period of human biological activity.
ReplyDeleteCurt Brooks
I get 8 hrs on weekdays and 12 hrs on weekends.
ReplyDeletethe Circadium rhythym is a cycling 24 hr period that controls your brain's behavioral processes
Aaron Kay
i get about 8 hours of sleep a night. circadium rythm is your internal clock.
ReplyDelete-denell hammond
On the weekdays i usually get about 7.5 hours of sleep and on the weekends I usually get around 9 hours of sleep.
ReplyDeleteThis affects my rhythmic biological cycles recurring at approximately 24-hour intervals because my body needs more sleep than what I am getting, and the amount of sleep I get changes often, therefore I can't get into a cycle.
-Max Goldschein
I usually get around 7 hours of sleep. Circadium rythm is the internal clock that your body follows everyday.
ReplyDeleteMark Brown
I usually get 6-7 hours of sleep every day
ReplyDeletecircadian rhythm is the 24 hour cycle of human activity.
Harris Tsinas
I get about 8 hours of sleep per night. Circadian rhythm is the daily cycle that humans naturally follow that involves sleeping at consistent hours.
ReplyDelete-Tim Lenardo
i get around 8 hours a night and a circadian rhythm is just your sleeping cycle
ReplyDeletei sleep about 9 hours and 10 hours on the weekend my circadian rhythem is pretty close to the regular 24 hour activity
ReplyDeleteeric song
I usually get about 7 hours of sleep on weekdays and about 9 hours of sleep on weekends. The transition from weekend to weekday is usually fairly smooth.
ReplyDeleteYour circadian rythem is your body's internal clock that regulates when you feel tired (normally) and when you feel most awake.
-Henry Voss
I get eight hours of sleep every night and circadian rythyms are our biological cycles that occur in a 24 hour period.
ReplyDelete-Dimitri
i usually get 5-7 hurs of sleep during the school week
ReplyDeleteA circadian rhythm is a roughly 24-hour cycle in the biochemical, physiological or behavioral processes of living entities.
Steven Rubin
I get about 8 hours of sleep every night. Circadianare rythems are our bological cycles that occur in a 24 hour period.
ReplyDelete-Greg Potemken
I usually get 6-7 hours of sleep every day.Circadian rhythm is the 24 hour cycle of human activity.
ReplyDeleteDavid Sureff
i get around 6-7 hours of sleep a night and circadian rhythem is just your sleeping cycle
ReplyDeleteJason CAmeron
i sleep about 6 -8 hours on school nights. circadian rythem is the 24 hour biological cycle that reccurs regularly in our bodies
ReplyDelete-sam zacks
i get around 8 hours of sleep a night and a circardian cycle is just your sleeping cycle
ReplyDeleteNick Wise
i get around 8 hrs
ReplyDeleteshayan
I sleep around 7.5-8 hours on weekdays and between 9-10 hours on weekends.
ReplyDeleteA circadian rythem if your 24 hour sleep cycle
-Ben Zacks
I get about 6-7 hours of sleep a night, and the circadian rythm is your sleep habits and your internal clock.
ReplyDeleteMax Langworthy
1: I usually get on average 4 to 5 hours of sleep and I know that it's not enough time, but school makes it hard with all homework and projects, etc. Which is why sometimes or most times don't get enough time to sleep.
ReplyDelete2: Inherent cycle of approximately 24 hours in length that appears to control or initiate various biological processes, including sleep, wakefulness, and digestive and hormonal activity. The natural signal for the circadian pattern is the change from darkness to light.
JANSEN VERA