Tag: sleep

4 Tips to Sleep Better & Lose Weight: Guest Post from Dr. Sam Sugar

Today, it’s my pleasure to present a guest post with 4 sleep tips from Sam Sugar, M.D., F.A.C.P., director of Sleep Services at the Pritikin Longevity Center and Spa. If you, too, would like to contribute a blog post, see guidelines below.
1. Change your mindset about sleep.
Many of us think of sleep as something that we need to cram in between living, like a skinny piece of bologna slapped between two big chunks of bread. That is so wrong. We need to change our mindset and think of sleep as a gift. We need to think of poor-quality sleep, or insufficient sleep, as a curse. Because of poor-quality or poor-quantity sleep, we are often hit with problems like daytime fatigue or sleepiness, morning headaches, anxiety or depression, addiction to sleeping pills, increased risk of diabetes and other cardiovascular-related disease, and even trouble losing excess weight. With good-quality sleep,
and plenty of it (7 to 8 hours nightly), we enjoy the exact opposite: better health, better lives, happier lives. And we even significantly boost our success in shedding excess weight. That’s because good sleep results in lower levels of hormones in our body that trigger appetite.”
2. Improve your sleep hygiene.
Don’t crawl into bed at night with the TV blaring and the lights on, as well as newspapers and other reading material spread out on your bed. When you get rid of the noise and lights, and keep your room temperature nice and cool, it’s much easier to fall into soothing, deep, restful sleep.”
3. Skip Alcohol, Caffeine & Exercise After 7 p.m.
After 7 p.m., don’t partake of such sleep robbers such as alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine. And, while a commitment to exercise is admirable, don’t take off for the gym in the evening hours. That nighttime workout may wake you up, which is the last you need when you’re trying to fall off to sleep later in the evening.”
4. Say No to Sugary Foods & Lose Weight.
After 7 p.m., you also want to avoid fatty, heavy, high-sugar, and/or spicy foods. Sleep loss induces weight gain for several reasons. For instance, two hormones – leptin and ghrelin are affected by lack of sleep.
If you’re not getting enough sleep, your leptin levels go down, which is a problem because leptin suppresses appetite.
Ghrelin does just the opposite – it stimulates appetite. Sure enough, this hormone increases when you sleep less.When you don’t sleep, your body tells you to eat, which is why so many reach for the refrigerator late in the night.
4. Talk to your doctor and don’t minimize your symptoms.
Poor sleep could be the result of a very serious condition called obstructive sleep apnea. Having sleep apnea can greatly increase your risk of life-threatening problems like heart attacks and strokes, so it’s important to pay attention to symptoms such as daytime sleepiness, snoring, needing to urinate repeatedly during both day and night, and waking up with a dry mouth. All could be symptoms of sleep apnea. Your doctor can likely recognize these symptoms, and others and prescribe treatments that can be very effective. The benefits of treating sleep apnea are lowering the risk of heart disease, right
heart failure and sudden death. Talking to your doctor and getting treatment for sleep apnea, if needed, can improve your life tremendously. The benefits of treating sleep apnea include better blood pressure, more daytime energy, far less snoring at night, and a much lower risk of heart disease, right heart failure, and sudden death. You’ll also shed weight more easily. Your body is no longer fighting pound-producing hormonal disturbances caused by sleep loss. In fact, losing just 10 to 15 percent of excess body weight may improve sleep apnea so much that it disappears.”
Would you like to write for this Sugar Shock Blog? To have your blog post considered, please see the guidelines on this Sugar Shock Blog.

Take Charge of Your Stress & Sleep: Two Keys to Live Life Well

Are you overwhelmed by stress? And are you sleep deprived?
These are two vital areas in life that you can and should change. And gaining control over these areas can help you get a fabulous life.
Listen to this powerful Gab with the Gurus Radio Show with the amazing to learn more about how to take charge of your life when it comes to both stress and sleep.
My first guest, which is part of the Gab with the Gurus 3-Year Anniversary celebration, is Lauren E. Miller, author of 99 Things You Wish You Knew Before. . . Stressing Out.
Next, make sure to listen to this fabulous interview with Dr. Breus, author of the fabulous book, The Sleep Doctor’s Diet Plan: Lose Weight Through Better Sleep:
Right now, I’m listening again to the second half of the Gab with the Gurus Radio Show with Dr. Breus. You will find out:
How being sleep deprived is the worst thing for your weight.
How the more sleep deprived you are, the slower your metabolism.
How you can lose weight just by sleeping!
One thing NOT to do if you wake up in the middle of the night.
How not enough sleep leads you to eat more sweets and culprit carbs.
About a hormone that makes you eat — this is triggered when you don’t get enough sleep.
What one incredibly simple thing you can do to take charge of your sleep.
How to figure out how much sleep you need.
How yoga and acupuncture can help you sleep.
When to power off and have “an electronic curfew.”
The best way to fall asleep.
How to catch up if you’re sleep deprived.
Whether or not to nap.
How to get sleep while you’re on the road. (These are awesome tips.)
What the scoop is about melatonin and valerian root.
Listen now to these fascinating Gab with the Gurus interviews in honor of our three-year anniversary.
Listen to internet radio with Gab With the Gurus on Blog Talk Radio

7 Simple Steps to a Sweeter You & Sweeter Life (Article)

Friends and followers, here’s an article I wrote that I hope will help you. This piece is designed to inspire all of you — including, of course, sugar addicts (for whom I offer my Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction in 6 Weeks Program) — and those who are immune (or relatively unfazed) by sugary temtpations.
7 Simple Steps to a Sweeter You & Sweeter Life By Connie Bennett, CHHC, CPC
With spring here and summer on the horizon, this is an ideal time to take stock of where you are and where you’d like to go. In other words, it can be invaluable to take a probing look inward and make some moves in the direction of your dreams. Ask yourself:
* Are you the kind of person you’d like to be?
* Are you achieving your heart’s desires?
* How can you be kinder, better and sweeter?
* What traits and skills can you develop or cultivate to get to where you want to go and to be the person you know you can be?
* And how can you have a sweeter life?
Let’s also put it another way: It’s time for some internal spring housecleaning. Since we’re human, each of us can always find something about ourselves to improve.
My clients have found that doing this kind of taking stock, assessing and goal setting helps them to build confidence, achieve inner joy, fall in love with themselves and be endearing to others.
Here are 7 areas to explore that can lead you to personal growth and transformation so you become a person you like, admire and respect — and, of course, a person others find sweet.
1) Take delight. Do you view the glass as half full rather than half empty? Do you feel joy, delight and glee when you view a sunset, when you see trees, when your child looks at you with adoring eyes, when you first bite into an organic apple, when you walk down the street, or when you’re immersed in a project? Make yourself look at the bright side of things. No one wants to be around a killjoy so concentrate on fostering that part of you that’s childish, innocent, sweet and fun. Become the kind of person people (and you would) love to be around.
2) Listen with zeal. Do you pay close attention to other people when they speak? Do you care about their worries, goals and fears? Or are too wrapped up in yourself? There’s nothing more annoying than someone who cuts you off in the middle of saying something. Challenge yourself to really focus on what people are saying. That way others will want to share with you more. Besides, you’ll like yourself better, too.
3) Cultivate gratitude. Lately, thankfully, giving thanks has been given good play—and not just around Thanksgiving. Being appreciative is something we should do on a daily basis. Have you thanked God or the universe lately for your loved ones, your home, your job, your friends, your innate skills and talents, your material possessions, etc.? If not, begin a gratitude journal or take stock on your computer every morning and/or evening.
4) Get enough zzz’s. Lack of sleep seems to be an American hobby, if not an obsession, and I confess, I’m one of the worst offenders. (I’m working on it!) Many of us seem driven by all that we have to do, whether it’s answering e-mails, cleaning the house or catching up with a friend. But recent research suggests that sleep-deprived people may be more likely to be overweight. Not getting enough rest also may make you grumpy, brain foggy and unproductive. Even more frightening, sleep deprivation may increase your risk for heart attacks, strokes, colon cancer, breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
5) Enjoy food that lives. One of the most effective ways to become a healthy, energetic, kind, successful, loving person is to eat superior, nutritive carbs — the kind that grows out of the ground or from trees (vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds) and turn your back on those health-harming culprit carbs. Are you a sugar junkie or a carb craver? Do you grab chocolate, soda or donuts just to get through the day? As my book SUGAR SHOCK!, explains, overeating sugary foods and refined, much-like-sugar carbs (processed breads, pasta, crackers, white rice, etc.) could send you into sugar shock and lead to some 150 ailments, including obesity, depression, heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, mood swings, infertility, low libido, failing memory and premature aging.
6) Get moving. As we all know by now, physical activity can work wonders. If you’re feeling like a zombie—that is sluggish, listless and unmotivated, there’s nothing like getting off your derriere and dancing or just plain walking to energize you. It’s well documented, as the Mayo Clinic points out, that exercise improves your mood, combats chronic diseases and can even put the spark back in your sex life. So put on your sneakers now. (In fact, I’m off for a fun bike ride myself now.)
7) Break free of clutter. The road to self improvement doesn’t always have to be complicated. In fact, just getting rid of your “stuff” can give you a tremendous breakthrough experience. Cutting out clutter is one of those simple, but uplifting projects that can quickly bring you to a better place. It is exhilarating and exciting to discard excess documents, old clothes and undesirable doodads. (Earlier today, I got rid of some excess stuff. Feels darn good, you’ll find.)
Don’t these 7 Steps to a Sweeter & Sweeter Life sound easy? Don’t waste any time—pat yourself on the back because you’ve considered taking such important action. Now, start moving those goal-setting muscles and select one step to concentrate on each day of the week. I’m willing to bet that within three weeks, you’ll already become more happy, content and self-fulfilled. So get going—start building the foundation for a sweeter you and a sweeter life.
Connie Bennett, MSJ, CHHC, CPC is a former sugar addict and author of SUGAR SHOCK! (Penguin Group), which has been praised by Dr. Mehmet Oz, who says it “spills the beans” and bestselling author Dr. Mark Hyman (UltraMetabolism), who said it “could save your life.” Connie is a certified holistic health counselor, a certified life coach, sugar-liberation expert, speaker, frequent TV and radio show guest (“CBS News Sunday Morning,” “Oprah & Friends Radio,” etc.). She maintains her Sugar shock Blog, hosts the weekly Gab with the Gurus Radio Show and holds Sugar-Liberation Secrets seminars and teleseminars such as Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction in 6 Weeks. Connie also is an experienced journalist and columnist, who has been published widely in print and on the Web. To learn how to release your sugar habit, find out about Connie’s Break Free of Your Sugar Addiction in 6 Weeks Program. Copyright © 2010, Connie Bennett, Stop SUGAR SHOCK!, www.SugarShockBlog.com
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