Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Lack of sleep & anxiety

Lets face it - lack of sleep and anxiety are a brutal combination, particularly for busy mothers. Once you start to lose those precious hours of sleep, the anticipation of 'not sleeping' takes over, and you end up feeling anxious about not sleeping. And so the cycle goes....until you figure out how to break it.

A recent headline caught my attention "Short-sleepers may develop a blood sugar abnormality that can lead to diabetes". And if you really need something to keep you up at night, how about this headline - "Poor sleep quality may put children at risk of obesity". Who is at risk ? Those who sleep less than 6 hours a night.

* The findings of these studies were presented at this years American Heart Associations 49th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.

I called this blog 'Beyond Nutrients' because I believe there are many elements to a healthy lifestyle. It's more than diet and supplements, other aspects of our lives impact our health such as exercise, relaxation and SLEEP. And sleep is emerging as a very important aspect to better health.

Americans are sleeping less. In 1900, reported sleep time was on average nine hours a night. By the 1970s reported average sleep time was closer to seven hours a night. Today, the average sleep time for an American adult is approximately 6 hours. The solution: go to bed as early as possible and keep your fingers crossed you'll only wake after 7 hours of sound sleep.


  1. I read research a few years ago that said that being overtired ups your appetite, as your body tries to compensate for fatigue with extra fuel (food). Which leads to overweight and all the attending illnesses. The solution is so simple...and yet it's so hard to go to bed early!

  2. oh this subject is so enormous...and so meaningful. Perhaps the good dr. could get back to "Beyond Nutrients Nation" with a discussion about Melatonin and the pros and cons to its sleep inducing powers.


  3. On its way Amy - I just ordered a book on the topic. Yes RL, the solution appears simple yet it's so impossible for some. I've been at the airport since 4 am this morning so I'd say my circadian rhythm is OFF! It will probably take several days to get back to a normal sleep pattern now. I've already had my first cup of coffee ....yikes.

  4. new post please!


  5. Oh sorry ! I've been at a nutrition conference....on its way Billy
