Sleep - What everybody need more of!

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by David Grisaffi
http://www.fit-zone.com

Get 8 hours! We have all heard that many time over.
Just look at your sleep pattern and you can see easily see
why you may be tired all the time, run down or sick. If you
want those abs to show give a little bit of time to
organizing your sleep.

When we are sleep deprived the amount of effort to do all
the exercise and nutrition will be a constant battle. We as
a society are sick, fat and many are becoming dietetics
partially because we do not sleep enough to let our bodies
repair themselves properly.

Here is a stat:

In 1910 the average adult slept 9-10 hours per night
Today we are lucky to get 7 hours per night

Just 8 short years ago we slept on average 800 more hours
per year~

We must understand that sleeping controls eating. Not
enough sleep leads to getting fat, storing fat, always
being hungry, and many other disease-related illnesses such
as diabetes.

Part of the problem exits because of watching TV, working
late at night under bright lights, or using the internet
late under the same conditions. Your brain thinks it is
daytime and your costisol level (hormone which wakes you up
in the morning) stays high and disrupts your sleeping
pattern by mobilizing blood sugar. Insulin (fat storage
hormone) get called out to put sugar in the muscles and the
excess guess where~fat!

We are getting more and more addicted to high carbohydrate
diets and these diets lead us down a path of no return. The
result is less sleep because we are ampted up by the light
sugar and stimulation late at night.

The shorter we make our night by depriving sleep the less
melatonin (sleeping hormone) we produce. The less melatonin
we have the more estrogen, testosterone, cortisone and more
insulin we produce.

To understand this a little better just think of the first
4 hours of sleep as a melatonin bath which allowing growth
hormone to secrete and repair the body from the inside out
on a cellular level. If you miss this vital bath your are
going to be in debt and with all debt you have to pay back
sooner or later.

The last 4 hours or so is when we dream or psychic
regeneration. Cortisol begins to secrete at the tale end of
this part of sleep and eventually wake you up. But again
staying up late under bright lights disrupts this delicate
balance. Makes you run down craving carbos to get back into
the game and producing insulin and making you fatter.

Our sleeping pattern controls our eating schedule, so do
the following to help insure your bodies ability to get
sound and rest full sleep.

Do not skip breakfast! If you eat a small breakfast
followed by a medium lunch then top that off with a large
dinner you are going to have what I call the APPLE
syndrome. You will look like an apple. This is a sure sign
of becoming insulin resistant. The main reason you do not
want to eat in the morning is stated about in this section.
You are playing with your hormones and additional blood
sugar is still in your body when you wake up and guess
what -- I'm not hungry in the morning... now you know why and
if you are ever going to see those abs you have to change
you thinking. Do you body a favor and start eating in the
morning and not just carbohydrates. I prefer a good dose of
protein to start my day!

Try to sleep at least 9 hours per night when starting this
program. Go to bed at dusk our bodies are wired to follow
the sun.

Make sure you bedroom is dark and I mean dark. No alarm
clock in your face, drapes left open so outside light can
enter the room. The darker the room the less your body will
sense light and start to secrete cortisol. Believe it or
not your body will sense the light even with your eyes
closed. Have you ever woke up when some one turns on a
light!

Go to Bed an hour earlier then you normally do to start out.

Turn off the TV by 9 PM and read if you can not fall asleep.

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