Generosity of a Former Insomniac - Keeping the Pounds Off While You Are Sleeping

I am an insomniac. Well, was one. I suffered a major sleeping disorder few years ago. While I was supposed to be blooming gracefully as a teenager, I underwent this bad habit. I went through 5 days straight with only 2 hours of sleep. And the next time I snored, even if I snore – oh yes, I know I do snore, was in 144 hours. No kidding. I used to wish of having dreams, even bad ones because I didn’t get the chance to dream. And I ended up vomiting and having headaches, feeling nausea most of the time. I blacked out one sunny afternoon after 4 days and nights of none sleep. It was terrible. The only prescription from doctors was medicines and supplements which were supposed to make me drowsy, but it wasn’t helpful most of the time. Anyways, I chose to write about this health-affecting habit, or more precisely, disease, for my essay for a test I had to do last night at work. For documentum purpose they say, right. I chose to write about this issue was because it had made huge changes in my life, both with and without it.

Did you know that if you aren’t getting adequate sleep, you may find yourself hungry even after consuming a sufficient amount of food? In addition to affecting our control in appetite, sleep loss interferes with the process of breaking down carbs – that is our carb metabolism; I always hate using scientific terms. Anyways, this effect leads to an increase in our blood glucose levels, causing insulin to be released, which can lead to weight gain and increase fat storage.

However, I shall not bore you more with how my life was affected with insomnia because I would rather write about the preventions of insomnia. It will be more helpful. Truly, I got to know about a few tips by reading from numerous articles, but I shall stand out the few facts which I had newly known of.

Reserve your bed for sleeping and sex only. Paying bills, watching TV, and other “sleep-robbing” activities which we always do should be conducted elsewhere. The next precaution which I am about to write is rather difficult to follow, but whatever it is, don’t go to bed hungry. Seriously, I would never want to do this ever before, thinking that it’s unhealthy to eat before you sleep. I always thought I’ll see an increase in the waistline or a swell in the bump of my stomach the next morning. However, a light snack like a reduced-fat cheese stick or a slice of lean deli meat can be enjoyably consuming before bedtime. And for those sweat-out fanatics, whatever you exercise, you have to refrain from exercising three hours before bedtime since exercise releases the hormone called epinephrine, which can boost up your level of alertness. Log some exercise time during the day can improve your ability to sleep. Caffeine lovers, this might hurt you a little bit. But drinking a stimulant of caffeine several hours of retiring to bed can cause early awakening. Same goes with alcohols. Smokers on the other hand, if you still, you must. And if you must, quit!

Other precautions I have no doubt is stagnant somewhere by your fingertips. But it’s just a matter of whether you want to oblige to it or not. If you typically have trouble sleeping at night, avoid napping during the day. If you’ve been trying to fall asleep for more than 30 minutes, get your butt out of bed and do something relaxing; for instance, take a bath, read a magazine, record your thoughts in a journal (like people still do this) until you feel sleepy. Truly, to me, making sure my environmental is conducive enough for sleeping is enough. Comfortable light, sound, and temperature seems to be an easy pathway to getting sleepy, but as for me, dark and shut the hell of noises are what I call as my way. A good tip is to be consistent about the time we go to be and what time you wake up each day, and by all means, this also means on weekends!

If you are making plans to stay in perfect shape, a lack of sleep is the last thing you need because it may be affecting your ability to lose weight. I tried some of the “safety measures”, and truthfully, some worked but some didn’t. I strongly believe that it depends on the individual itself. If you think you fall in this “insomniac” category, start practicing the tips I have mentioned above. It might be helpful. No harm trying it. It could, in fact, give you a healthier life indeed.