Think getting one hour less sleep make a difference?  Think again.

 

 

The downside of not getting enough sleep is multi-faceted.  Previous posts have shown the increased risks of little to no shut-eye and here yet again I have more problems for those who choose not to sleep!  The list of excuses as to why you can’t find time for sleep is probably similar to those for exercise.  I’m guilty of missing sleep because of poor time management.  I have a tendency to do many things at one time and get little or nothing done on all of them, so I’ll stay up later to finish everything and sacrifice sleep.

 

A sleep study showed that losing 1 hour and 20 minutes of sleep led to 550 calories more being consumed (1).  The more time that your up could equal more time to eat.  They also found that activity levels didn’t increase even though sleep time was down.

 

The bottom line is…

 

That losing sleep will affect the way your body functions and you need to evaluate the quality and quantity of your sleep if you want to achieve your fitness and health goals.  For tips on how to improve your sleep habits and restore your health click here.

 

1) Phend, C.  (2012).  Calorie Intake Rises As Sleep Time Drops.  MedPage Today.  Retrieved from: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Prevention/31663.
2) Photo courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3062

 

Brent

Brent

President, Personal Training Manager at Body By Brent LLC
Brent
Brent
Brent