Weight Gain Linked to Sleep Problems

As if getting older weren’t hard enough, new research shows that middle-aged and older women who have trouble falling or staying asleep may pack on more pounds than their well-rested peers.

The new findings, reported in the International Journal of Obesity, strengthen the evidence that sleep problems are related to weight gain. In this case, the study design allowed the researchers to show that sleep problems came before substantial weight gain in some participants.

Finnish researchers followed more than 7,300 40- to 60-year-old adults for seven years. They found that women who reported significant sleep problems at the outset generally put on more weight over time than women who slept well.  Roughly one-third of women with frequent sleep problems gained at least 11 pounds, versus about a fifth of women with no sleep difficulties at the outset.  The link in the women persisted even when the investigators accounted for a number of factors that can affect both sleep quality and weight gain — including participants’ body weight at the study’s start, their exercise habits and their general physical and mental health.

Men’s sleep problems apparently were not related to weight gain.  However, the smaller number of men in the study– 1,300 versus more than 5,700 women — may have made any potential effect among men harder to detect.

While the findings do not prove cause-and-effect, they raise the possibility that improving sleep quality might help stave off excess weight gain.  There is evidence that sleep loss alters people’s levels of the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin — which could, in theory, spur them to overeat.

all my best,

Karen Cameron
www.IndependAid.com & www.Memoir-Maker.com

Source:  Reuters Health –link.reuters.com/nub45m International Journal of Obesity, online June 8, 2010.

5 Foods that Help you Sleep

A few days ago we talked about how insomnia is linked with weight gain.  Certainly we don’t want sleep problems to excerbate our weight issues.  So, should you let yourself snack if you’re having trouble sleeping and you think hunger might be part of the problem? These 5 nutritious foods can actually help you drift off:

1. Cherries. Fresh and dried cherries are one of the only natural food sources of melatonin, the chemical that controls the body’s internal clock to regulate sleep. Researchers who tested tart cherries and found high levels of melatonin recommend eating them an hour before bedtime or before a trip when you want to sleep on the plane.

2. Bananas. Potassium and magnesium are natural muscle relaxants, and bananas are a good source of both. They also contain the amino acid L-tryptophan, which gets converted to 5-HTP in the brain. The 5-HTP in turn is converted to serotonin (a relaxing neurotransmitter) and melatonin.

3. Toast. Carbohydrate-rich foods trigger insulin production, which induces sleep. Bring on sleepiness by speeding up the release of tryptophan and serotonin, two brain chemicals that relax you and send you to sleep.

4. Oatmeal. Like toast, a bowl of oatmeal will trigger insulin production, raising blood sugar naturally and making you feel sleepy. Oats are also rich in melatonin, which many people take as a sleep aid.

5. Warm milk. Like bananas, milk contains the amino acid L-tryptophan, which turns to 5-HTP and releases relaxing serotonin. It’s also high in calcium, which promotes sleep.

Source:  www.caring.com

ElderCaring is brought to you by Check-In Calls, LLC

Sleep Problems Linked to Weight Gain

As if getting older weren’t hard enough, new research shows that middle-aged and older women who have trouble falling or staying asleep may pack on more pounds than their well-rested peers.

The new findings, reported in the International Journal of Obesity, strengthen the evidence that sleep problems are related to weight gain. In this case, the study design allowed the researchers to show that sleep problems came before substantial weight gain in some participants.

Finnish researchers followed more than 7,300 40- to 60-year-old adults for seven years. They found that women who reported significant sleep problems at the outset generally put on more weight over time than women who slept well.  Roughly one-third of women with frequent sleep problems gained at least 11 pounds, versus about a fifth of women with no sleep difficulties at the outset.  The link in the women persisted even when the investigators accounted for a number of factors that can affect both sleep quality and weight gain — including participants’ body weight at the study’s start, their exercise habits and their general physical and mental health.

Men’s sleep problems apparently were not related to weight gain.  However, the smaller number of men in the study– 1,300 versus more than 5,700 women — may have made any potential effect among men harder to detect.

While the findings do not prove cause-and-effect, they raise the possibility that improving sleep quality might help stave off excess weight gain.  There is evidence that sleep loss alters people’s levels of the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin — which could, in theory, spur them to overeat.

Source:  Reuters Health –link.reuters.com/nub45m International Journal of Obesity, online June 8, 2010.

ElderCaring is brought to you by Check-In Calls, LLC