SLEEP & CHRONIC DISEASE

Do you remember the last time you stayed awake all night either because of school, work and regular life activities?

Were you all grumpy? I bet you were.  Lack of sleep will not only  change your tempter, it will also affect your metabolic functions leading to chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance taking you away from reaching your fitness goals.

Why do we sleep?

 We all love to sleep and being honest we all need it. It is while we sleep that our body start working in order to repair itself and perform its metabolic functions — processes essential for sustaining life. Jennifer Kolso, a specialist from Precision Nutrition, states that metabolic processes are influenced by hormones during sleeping time which regulate may human functions.

  Some examples of hormones involved in sleep include:

• Leptin and ghrelin, two hormones involved in appetite control;
• Insulin, a key player involved in processing the foods that we eat and maintaining normal blood sugar levels; and
• Melatonin, secreted by the pineal gland, is involved in both regulating our body clock (aka circadian rhythm) as well as keeping glucose levels stable.

By Jennifer Kolso

Insulin resistance 

What is it?

 It is a metabolic syndrome where the body uses insulin less effectively than normal. Insulin is needed to help control the amount of sugar in the body.  If the insulin levels rise glucose will be circulating in your blood system and will end storing in the body as fat.

If you wonder why you can get rid of that layer of belly fat, you might have to check not only your nutrition, exercise plan but also your sleep.

Remember, scientists state healthy subcutaneous fat depends on insulin being able to do its job. If insulin metabolism isn’t working properly, we risk type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders.

 What are you waiting?  Go to sleep!