How many hours of sleep do you get a night? How many would you like to get? Do you think the amount of sleep you get has any effect on your weight?
These questions are kind of random and strung together, but let me explain.
Last month, Glamour magazine had this huge article teaser on their cover – “Lose 10 Pounds Just By Sleeping More” (msnbc feature on the article here). When I saw it, I thought “riiiiight.” Then, I read it, and still thought, “riiiiight.” But I’ve heard it before – people who get less sleep are heavier than people who get more sleep.
There are two ways I can relate to this statement, but they are not directly related to that article. One is that in college, I used to take naps because I was so sleep deprived, and when I woke up, still tired, I always thought I was hungry. I almost always ate something. It took a lot of constraint not to. The other happens to me now – I am so tired that I eat, just so the snacking motion will keep me awake.
This has been a really awful week for me, sleep-wise. I’ve been staying awake on the train in the morning, and I think not banking that 1-1.25 hours of sleep is really hurting me. I am so energetic and peppy at work, but when I get on the train to go home, all the energy is gone. And one day this week, I got so pumped up at work in the afternoon that my heart was still beating too fast when I tried to go to bed that night. I didn’t end up falling asleep until 1:00 and still got up at my normal time of 5:15. I was so tired at work the next day that I got delirious and dizzy in the afternoon. So the next day, last night, I skipped my workout and got in bed at 8:30. I feel a little better. A little.
So, to answer my own question, I usually get 6 hours, would love 7 or 8, and think it would help me keep weight off, just because I wouldn’t be eating to try to stay awake.
But really, I am stuck in the schedule I have. It’s funny, a fellow coworker on the Biggest Loser Challenge was complaining to me a few weeks ago about not having time to exercise. So she asked me when I do. And I told her – I spend 1.5 hours on the train, eat dinner right away when I get home, then 1.5 hours exercising… a shower, maybe some blog reading… and that’s my weeknight. Four nights a week. Exercise is important to me; I am not ready to give that up to get more sleep. (Oh, and by the way, I think the coworker was looking for… some validation in my answer to make herself feel less guilty, but she didn’t get it. So starting this Wednesday, she and I will be making weekly visits to the office gym after work. I’ll let you know how it goes!)
If you’re interested, here are some other related articles on the sleep topic: “Importance of Sleep: Six Reasons not to scrimp on sleep,” and “The Steps to a Sleep Diet.”
Hoo boy–this is an eternal struggle for Mr. E. I’ll have to encourage him to comment.
I simply can’t function on less than an average of 7. On the weekends, we’re talking 8 – 10. I try to stick to it because if I don’t get my sleep I will get physicially ill. Sometimes I just can’t relax, and sometimes I get caught up reading something and don’t make it to bed in a reasonable time. But I try to be very disciplined about it because I just feel like poo otherwise. If I really can’t fall asleep, I take a Benedryl to conk me out. Seriously, that is how important my rest is to me.
Lack of sleep creates stress hormones which cause you to eat more and gain weight. I also find that if I go to sleep when I feel “hungry”, I won’t feel hungry anymore when I wake up. I’m not sure exactly why that is–perhaps I should read the articles. 😉
Actually, I hope Kyra comments on this, because I want to hear her thoughts on food/sleep/exercise all being interrelated!
P.S.
I think it is funny that you wrote about sleep and I wrote about dreaming today before I even read your blog!
Since getting back on the healthy, healthy, healthy train, I have been sleeping a lot more, but not where I feel sluggish and lazy, but to where I think my brain and muscles are getting the rest they need!
I have to confess though, I don’t have to be at work at any particular time most days…
sleep has been my long lost friend lately… lately dc and i have been in bed by 10:30 at the latest and if i’m lucky i will fall asleep by 11ish… but the past several weeks i’ve been waking up about 3 or 3:30 every single weekday morning, wide awake and unable to go back to sleep… i have no clue what is up with that… i like to get about 7 hours of sleep each night but i wish i could get 8… honestly, i wish i could go to sleep whenever and not have to worry about getting up until my body was ready!!!! ah, that would be the life!!!
=^..^=
I normally get about 7 hours a night. But that all depends on how much is on my mind, any stress that I’m under and how often I wake up in the night to go pee or jot down a thought I have.
I’d like to sleep a bit better, but I don’t really want to take anything to help me sleep, unless I have a cold. Then it’s OTC City!
I get between 7 and 8 hours of sleep during the week. I go to bed between 10:30 and 11:30 PM and usually get out of bed between 6:30 and 7:15 AM. If allowed to sleep as long as I want, I typically sleep for 9-10 hours before I naturally wake-up.
At my previous job, we had a joke that no one should bother me before 10AM. It takes me a LONG time to be fully awake. Typically I hit my peak just after lunch. Even when I get 9-10 hours of sleep I still don’t feel truly awake until 1 or 2 PM.
I can see how being tired but needing to stay awake would lead to eating more. In fact, I almost did that this morning. Thankfully, I resisted the leftover cupcakes and just drank a ton of water instead.
I try very, very hard to get 8 hours. I can go a couple days with less, but after a while I feel terrible and am… less than charming to be around. On the weekends I might sleep in an extra hour, but usually no more than that, so it’s best not to be sleep deprived during the week and hope to make up for it on the weekend because I’m up early no matter what.
I agree with Diane on this. If I don’t get 7 hours of sleep I am cranky, end up sick a lot, and not really any good to anyone. What’s funny is that when my kids were babies and waking up all night, I was fine with the lack of sleep. Now, if one of them is even sick and up once at night I am miserable the next day.
I agree on the mixing up tired and hungry. I do that a lot. Like I think if I just eat something maybe I will wake up a little or somehow feel a bit better. I think that is why last year when I was first starting the fatigue from what I now know to be rheumatoid arthritis and sjogrens, I gained weight. Not a ton, just about 10 pounds, but I couldn’t seem to figure it out. I was exhausted all the time and therefore eating constantly. Now that I am on the right medicine and feeling better, I am back to my regular weight. So I don’t think it is necessarily the amount of sleep you get that helps you lose weight, but what you do when you feel sleepy if you don’t get enough sleep. I’m pretty sure if I had just had some water instead of food when I felt exhausted I wouldn’t have gained any weight.
I always try to get around 7/8 hrs. of sleep – anything less and you probably don’t want to be around me.
I so wish I had an office gym to go to during lunch.
I try and get between 7-8 hours/night. I empathize with you, as I have the same issue of riding the train. I exercise right when I get home, before dinner, otherwise I procrastinate and will never do it. I find that my appetite is suppressed after exercise and that helps me control overeating at night. I also try to eat smaller meals throughout the day and that seems to help my energy level.
I have had a tough time falling asleep and staying asleep for the past ten years. Lately though I have been sleeping better. I think I always get enough sleep because I can get up whenever I want. I will tell you one thing though. Since I finally have dealt with my depression I have been able to lose weight. I also think not getting enough sleep increases depression so in a way they all work together–getting enough sleep, dealing with depression= weight loss.
I like 8. It’s the perfect amount for me. But most of the time I operate on 7. If I have less than that then I operate with a less than optimal brain power.
Since I take “dork” as a compliment, I actually keep a spreadsheet to monitor the amount of time I sleep… My average since I started maintaining it almost 3 years ago is 6.1 hours/day (includes sleep at nights and daytime naps). But I know I need about 7.5-8 hours…
I have no idea what effect sleep has on weight, but at the very least, that extra time awake means more time to eat too…
Getting more sleep is the one thing in my life I *really* need to change, but I just can’t seem to do it. I’ve tried scaring myself with the mental health effects (observed on myself (worsened short-term memory, slower and less-careful cognitive performance, less sociability (driven in part by the previous two), etc.) and reported on the interwebs), peer pressure (diane texting me to go to bed 😛 ), keeping track of how much I sleep (which has only served to show how bad the problem is, not spur changed behavior), setting alarm clocks, incentives (“I’ll buy an Xbox 360 if I steadily improve my sleep over the course of 3 months”), disincentives (basically, a tithe jar I add-to based on how much sleep I missed the night before), buying comfier new pillows… Nothing works. :-/
diane – That has been my problem lately – reading is keeping me up at night and keeping me from napping on the train. I try not to do it, but it makes me feel so stimulated! I need to stick with a bedtime, like you do. I’d probably feel a lot better. Heh. We seem to be on the same wavelength a lot lately!
Hotch Potchery – That is where I want to be – not sluggish (like on the weekends), but not exhausted. I have a flexible arrival time at my office. Maybe I can take advantage of it once my husband and I are no longer car-pooling in the am!
CourtneyInControl – Oh my gosh! That is awful! Do you just stay up until you go to work? I wonder what is causing you to wake up. That sounds like a serious problem 🙁
martymankins – I never took a OTC for sleep until my last cold, and man, I LOVED IT! I would be weary of getting addicted to it too, though. I wouldn’t want to rely on it.
Erin – I think I could bank 9-10 every weekend too (if Mr. Cat didn’t wake me up so GD early). I met someone the other day who said their peak is right when they get to work! What?! I used to be just like you. Now that I don’t sleep on the train in the am, I am more alert when I get to work and crash on the way home.
Jenn – “less than charming.” hee hee, you’re cute 🙂 I have that wake up early on the weekend problem most of the time too. I think my body is programmed. It makes me upset sometimes, but sometimes I enjoy the extra time in the day.
tori – I think that is it exactly – what you do when you’re sleepy, to make yourself gain weight. I didn’t get that impression from the article though!
Gina (Mannyed) – What gym have you been going to? I am surprised your building doesn’t have one!
Tony – Maybe I should start having a small snack on the train so I can exercise right when I get home. Because I think that would suppress my appetite AND it would mean a longer cooling down period before bedtime. The only downside is that I might not get to eat dinner with my husband 🙁
joanharvest – I remember in college I felt really anxious all the time – from overwork and too little sleep. I finally went on medicine, but probably just needed more sleep.
sizzle – I wonder what percentage our brain powers decrease by with the hours of sleep 😉 It seems like mine goes to 0% after 3-4 hours.
E – What are you up doing? Are you just not tired?