Last week’s corner outlined the problems that daylight savings can cause. Coincidentally enough March is Sleep month in many countries and in Canada, March highlights Nutrition as one of its key health topics. Sleep and nutrition can go hand in hand many times with their outcomes. For example, if you have adequate sleep, you are more likely to have the ability to take the time to buy or prepare healthy food options. With little sleep, it usually triggers your body to consume less nutritious food options, as your body craves foods high in energy, which consist of high carbohydrates and beverages that contain high sugar levels or convert to sugar/glucose quickly in the body.
Sleep and nutrition are closely intertwined to our overall health and vitality for a better quality of life. Nutrition provides energy and nutrients for the body to function properly, while sleep allows for rest and restoration. If one or the other is out of whack it can sett us off balance.
Nutrition and sleep both have an effect on the metabolic processes that happen in the body. A healthy balanced diet = healthy metabolism along with enough proper sleep. This is because sleep regulates hormones involved in metabolism, specifically the hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin. Leptin signals to the brain that the body has had enough energy stores – basically that you are full and you don’t need to eat more. Ghrelin on the other hand stimulates hunger, telling you to eat more. When your sleep is off it can affect these hormones making them overproduce, causing you to overeat and in time this can lead to obesity and metabolic disorders. To add to this, insulin is also affected. Adequate sleep is essential for maintaining optimal insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. Like leptin and ghrelin, chronic sleep deprivation or disruption can lead to health problems as insulin resistance, elevated blood sugar levels, and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
When we are so tired that we can barely function, we tend to feel a sense of unwell, we feel sick even if we are not sick. This does however, open us up to being more susceptible to colds or flus that are making their rounds. Add poor nutrition and you are now even more at risk for picking up that nasty bug going around. If that isn’t enough to deal with, our cognitive functioning ability and mood are affected too. Sleep allows for the brain to recharge in general and nutrition has a key role in brain health. Being tired can make our moods irrational from being more angry, frustrated and emotional, while poor nutrition can do the same thing with blood sugar crashes.
To sum it up good nutrition and proper sleep can help us regulate the processes in our body in harmony, helping us to stave off some serious consequences and chronic diseases as cardiovascular health or diabetes type 2. When combined, they support physical, mental, and emotional wellness, helping us thrive and enjoy a higher quality of life.
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/calendar-health-promotion-days.html#m03
Mkkie Nettles-Pollon, Certified Personal Trainer/Holistic & Sports Nutritionist
Not sure where to begin, contact me at info@deemhealth.ca
250-541 -0411.
www.deamhealth.ca
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