Food for Thought. Food for Sleep.

Multiple research studies have been published recently that demonstrate the interesting, but frustrating, relationship between lack of sleep and weight gain. Sleeping less, whether by cutting back on sleep or an inability to capture sleep, is cruel enough but who would have thought that it could add pounds while you sleep? It would appear this is yet another message from your body to make adequate sleep a priority.

A very compelling study out of the University of Texas demonstrated how this works. It’s not as simple as being awake more and, therefore, eating more. Rather, the brain is constantly adjusting to your reality and sending signals accordingly. Sleep deprivation typically leads to increased brain activity. The brain compensates for this change by increasing hunger to balance the tiring waking phases of the night. Soon, the hormones that indicate you have had enough are out of whack. In a short time, the intake exceeds the need and within a week this can lead to an uptake of up to one kilogram of body weight.

The study also showed that resumption of a healthy, normal sleep pattern leads to a loss of body weight, but this process takes much longer. This unwanted increase in appetite, especially in women, can lead to significant weight gain within a short period of time. Fortunately, the opposite is true. However, weight loss is often slower than weight gain.

All is not lost! Here’s where it gets interesting. There is a positive sign in that efforts to improve sleep significantly assist with not gaining weight.

Another more recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA] flipped the narrative to demonstrate that sleep improvement methods, when followed do not result in weight gain as it did with the control group. Using a hypothesis of what they called ‘sleep extension intervention’ the researchers educated one group of participants in healthy sleep practices in their normal sleep environment (as opposed to a sleep lab) to extend their sleep to 8.5 hours per night over time. The control group, who were sleeping around 6 hours per night, had no intervention was subsequently compared on key indicators. The sleep extension group used energy much more efficiently and significantly resulting in the conclusion by the authors that: “Improving and maintaining healthy sleep duration over longer periods could be part of obesity prevention and weight loss programs.”

Consistent, sufficient, regular sleep can provide a number of health improvements including weight stability. Zenbev Drink Mix is perfectly designed to help you increase your sleep to take advantage of better health and prevent this potential for weight gain. It is the perfect sleep extension intervention that will never cause tolerance or dependence. It is gentle on your body and delivers trusted, natural sleep. Food for thought, indeed!