Sleep 7-9 Hours
We all should be aiming to sleep for 7-9 hours a night. Under-sleeping can lead to cravings for sweet, sugary food, poor dietary decisions and overconsumption of food. Ever noticed that on the nights you sleep the least, it is harder to make good nutritional choices the next day?
When we under-sleep we are likely to eat more food than usual and make poor choices around food. A lack of sleep can have a big impact on our hormones and make us crave sugary, processed foods and make us less likely to choose protein, greens and healthy fats.
Under-sleeping is a particularly bad habit if you are trying to lose weight. Those who are in a calorie deficit and under-sleeping are likely to lose up to 70% of weight from lean body mass rather than fat stores. Our weight loss plans are realistically fat loss plans, so we want a higher percentage of our losses on the scales to be coming from body fat. Sleep, along with protein and exercise, help shift this percentage in our favour.
It’s not something we think about a lot but getting enough sleep also has a direct impact on our productivity. Many of us lead busy lives and assume that getting a few hours less of sleep means a few hours more of work. Prioritising work over sleep is actually counter-productive. Instead of allowing you to get more work done, you’ll find yourself burnt-out, stressed, slower and your creativity will suffer. Evidence suggests that you actually make 20% more mistakes when you are sleep deprived, only creating more work for you.
Sleep Tips:
Get sunshine during the day, particularly in the first couple of hours after waking.
Avoid screens 1 hour before bed.
Avoid caffeine 6-8 hours before bed, caffeine stays in our system a long time!
If you enjoy tea in the evening, consider switching to a caffeinated / herbal tea such as chamomile or peppermint.
Try to keep your bedroom cool, we tend to sleep better when slightly cool.
Try to make your bedroom as dark as possible.
Keep technology out of the bedroom as much as possible.
Exercise regularly, just not in the 1-2 hours before bed.
Avoid alcohol consumption before bed, it may help us lose consciousness but can reduce sleep quality.
Consider practicing meditation before bed as a strategy to “wind-down” and switch off.
Try to maintain a fairly regular schedule of when you wake up and go to bed.
Save your boring, easy jobs around the house for the last hour before bed to help you switch off.
Turn off some lights in the house as it get’s closer to bed time - the dimmer light may help you wind down.
Alcohol and Sleep
We feel like we have to bring this bad news to you - having a ‘nightcap’ drink might actually prevent you sleeping well.
Alcohol can help us lose consciousness but can reduce the quality of our sleep.
Alcohol can fragment sleep, meaning that without realising it we might be waking many times during the night which can lead to fatigue the following day. Alcohol can also block rapid eye movement (REM) sleep which helps us consolidate memories. If we are trying to learn and commit new things to our memory, an interruption of REM sleep can slow down or stop this process.
It’s easy for us all to get into the mindset of ‘needing’ things. “I need a coffee to start the day” or “I need a drink to get me to sleep”. These needs are actually habits and a change of mindset and gradual behaviour change might be more beneficial than the quick fix.
Develop a Sleep Routine
Try a sleep routine. Make a decision on what time you want to go to sleep and an hour before start to unwind. Try to get away from screens - TV, laptops, mobile phones in that hour. Try turning off half the lights you normally have on. Save jobs you might have that aren’t on the laptop or phone for that last hour, like washing up, folding laundry, ironing etc.
Try to get into bed at least 20-30 minutes before you’re aiming to sleep and read a book. Make sure the light on isn’t super bright. Choose a fiction book that isn’t too taxing mentally.
Set your sleep environment. Get your bedroom nice and dark, try to remove any light or cover them. If you can keep your phone outside your bedroom.
Find a routine that works for you and with your exercise, healthy eating and good sleep habits you will be on the path to fantastic health.
What if a short night is going to happen?
So when we know that we are going to under-sleep for a special event, how do we mitigate these issues?
Meal preparation and reducing decisions.
Prepare your meals in advance or have a set plan which you will not change. Try to avoid having to buy food or make any decisions when you’ve under-slept.
Take your prepared lunch to work and if you start to feel cravings for something else remind yourself of the time, effort and money that went into preparing your lunch.
Obviously try to get a good night's sleep every night but when a special event like this comes up a bit of planning and preparation will save your the next day.
Constant Low Energy?
Constantly fatigued, lethargic, low on energy, and reliant on stimulants to get through your day? Also can't seem to achieve restful sleep? You may have heard about something termed 'adrenal fatigue' and think that's your issue. You might have also heard about supplements and special treatments which could be your saviour.
The idea behind 'adrenal fatigue' is related to an inability to produce sufficient levels of hormones that keep us energised, resulting from an overly stressful lifestyle and potentially excessive intake of stimulants. "Don't drink too much coffee, you'll fatigue your adrenal glands"...
'Adrenal fatigue' is NOT a legitimately recognised and diagnosed medical term, and the rationale behind it has been debunked in the scientific literature. In short, adrenal fatigue is not a thing.
However, none of this means that your symptoms don’t actually exist.
If you're experiencing the symptoms commonly associated with 'adrenal fatigue' chances are these will hit home:
Sleep is poor in quality & duration (potentially for other reasons)
Not managing and coping with the stressors in your life.
Potentially training beyond your capacity to recover
Maybe not eating enough Calories.
Potentially deficient in 1 or more vitamins and/or minerals namely Vitamin D, iodine, iron & B12.
When seeking a solution to your fatigue-related symptoms. Please understand...
You don't have adrenal fatigue.
Supplements won't help (unless you're deficient in something as diagnosed by a medical professional, and supplementation has been advised over a food first approach)
Your lifestyle needs strong consideration, are you "burning the candle, at both ends", not sleeping enough, being overtrained, underfed, overworked, and... overstressed.
Talk to your GP, as they can run and interpret blood work to see if an inner, underlying issue might be present.