Minx

Sleep More, Stress Less, Look Amazing

We’ve all heard countless times that we need to get enough rest. Some of us ignore it, some of us have lives that seem to prevent it and some of us are great about getting enough sleep. There are numerous reasons for sleeping regularly and adequately, but here are the essential reasons.

Lack of Sleep Makes You Fat

Studies have shown that people who sleep fewer than eight hours per night have one-third more body fat and as many as six more inches around their abdomen than those that get at least eight hours of sleep each night. Studies show that inadequate or irregular sleep (less than eight hours per night) has a profound impact on your health. It’s only recently that the scientific community has understood how much it impacts the release of cortisol.

Cortisol, and its effect on our weight and belly fat have been all over the news in recent years. Cortisol is a hormone that has a lot to do with how, and how much, fat is stored in the abdominal area. Stress, lack of rest and eating too little all trigger the production and release of cortisol, which tells your body that it needs to store belly fat as insurance against deprivation. This was handy back in the caveman days, when a low food supply or impending war meant people needed additional body fat stores. These days, stress seldom indicates that we may have to go without food for a while.

Unfortunately, stress still increases the production and release of cortisol. Numerous recent studies have proven that the stress produced by our daily lives, by a lack of sleep and even by counting calories will increase cortisol release and pack on the belly fat. However, what is really exciting is that this process can not only be slowed, but reversed! The body is very quick to adapt to some changes in your daily life that will profoundly affect how much cortisol is released into your bloodstream. So, your first step in losing belly fat without doing crunches should be to do everything you can to make sleep a priority. Not only will you lose belly fat, you’ll improve your memory, brain function and mood as well.

Lack of Sleep Makes You Old

There is a great deal of recent research by respected scientists and physicians that proves a lack of sleep and irregular sleep patterns greatly reduce your cognitive function, including memory, focus and the ability to learn. If you’re finding yourself losing things, forgetting appointments or having trouble helping your child with math, don’t be too quick to attribute it to getting older. Studies clearly show that these issues can often be directly connected to poor sleep habits.

As an added alarm, lack of sleep also ages your skin dramatically. Not only will you see undereye circles and bags, but your skin loses elasticity, and becomes sallow and dull. Most cell renewal takes place as you sleep. Without adequate rest, the rate at which your skin’s cells die, slough off and then renew slows down dramatically. In addition, lack of sleep helps to deplete your body of the Vitamin C that is essential to cell building and also helps to stave off cortisol release. See how these components work together?

In order to look and feel fit and energetic, you must get a minimum of seven hours sleep. Eight is far, far better. It is also important to sleep at regular times. Our work schedules, children and other commitments don’t always allow us to go to bed at 10pm on the dot. However, you need to try to go to sleep within the same two-hour timeframe each night.

Schedule your evenings out to start earlier. Forget about late night TV. Let the laundry wait until tomorrow. You deserve to look and feel as great as you are!