Here's a good reason to get a massage this weekend and get some rest: Two separate studies are reporting that stress at work and lack of sleep are the reason why you are overeating.
Overeating has always been a big problem for me but I definitely see an increase on days when I couldn't fall asleep until later or those that are super stressful for whatever reason. Sometimes I can barely keep myself from eating everything in sight and it turns out I'm not the only one.
Researchers at the American Heart Association meeting said that people who got 1/3 less sleep ate 500 additional calories that day, while a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition talks about how women experiencing burn out (feeling overwhelmed and exhausted) were more likely to have emotional and uncontrolled eating behaviors.
Read more ¿Qué más? Want to know what's really making us fat?
I've read about the link between sleep and overeating before, but these new stats shed even more light on the link. In the study, the control group slept an average of 6.5 hours a night (instead of the 7-9 hours that the National Sleep Foundation recommends for adults) while the test group only got 5.2 hours of sleep. So what happened? CBS news reports:
The researchers found people in the test group ate an average of 549 additional calories each day, while those who got their normal amount of sleep ate 143 fewer calories a day. Calvin told WebMD that if that rate of consumption kept going, the people who slept less could gain up to 1 pound a week.
Gaining one pound a week?! That's what happens if you get less sleep than usual for seven straight days. Basically, if you consistently are losing out on sleep you could stand to gain up to 52 extra pounds a year.
Read more ¿Qué más? Obvious news of the day: Eat less to lose weight.
Meanwhile, if you're stressed out at work (or at home), the other study is reporting that not only do women turn to emotional eating when they're feeling overwhelmed but that dietary and exercise changes are very challenging during this time if stress isn't addressed and managed in a long-term way.
These findings, combined, tell me that we need to be better about our stress and sleep. They're two key factors in maintaining a healthy weight. While eating a healthier diet and getting more exercise is always my main priority, I know that if I'm not getting enough sleep and I'm too stressed out, it's harder to make those better-for-me choices.
My plan for making sure I'm staying healthy is to really prioritize a full night's rest every night and figuring out little ways to get some relaxing "me time" every single day, whether it comes in the form of a bubble bath, meditation or even just curling up with a book at the end of the night. If that's what it takes to better control emotional eating, then that's what I'll be doing.
How will you be managing your stress and trying to better your sleep habits, not that you know those two factors may be the main reason you're eating more?
Image via Leonid Mamchenkow/Flickr
