Sugar addiction is real, and many people struggle to keep their sugar intake to a reasonable amount. Although sugar has a powerful pull, research suggests getting more good, quality sleep can help you manage your cravings.
How Much Sugar do You Consume?
The National Diet and Nutrition Survey found that all age groups eat more than the maximum recommended amount of sugar. Experts say no more than 5 percent of your daily food calories should come from added sugars, which is about 30g of sugar each day.
Typically, adults consume more than 11 percent of daily calories from sugars. Young people from 11 to 18 are higher at 15 percent.
Common sources of sugar for adults include:
When you eat too much sugar, you may gain weight or experience tooth decay.
Sleep Deprivation Can Influence Sugar Consumption
Many adults struggle to keep sugar consumption in check, and it may be related to sleep deprivation, especially when you turn to sugary, caffeinated beverages for a pick me up.
Research indicates adults who sleep five hours or fewer per night have 21 percent higher sugar sweetened beverage consumption, usually caffeinated sugary beverages. Those who slept for nine hours or longer consumed fewer servings of coffee and water.
Sleep deprivation can also influence the food you buy. Research from the Swedish Brain Research Foundation found sleep-deprived men purchased more calories and grams of food than after a night of sleep.
How You Can Sleep and Eat Well
Sugar can be a strong craving, but it is possible to reduce your sugar consumption. Focus on getting good sleep and practicing healthy habits to shake off your sugar cravings.
Sara Westgreen is a researcher for the sleep science hub Tuck.com. She sleeps on a king size bed in Texas, where she defends her territory against cats all night. A mother of three, she enjoys beer, board games, and getting as much sleep as she can get her hands on.
If you feel you could benefit from a consultation on how to get better sleep or require general guidance on nutritional support and how to live a balanced lifestyle please contact me at email@example.com or visit my website by going to www.urbanplatehealth.com
With winter well and truly under way and it being early December, most of us are counting down until the festive season can begin. For most of us, this is a particularly busy and tiring time of year. There seems to be so much to do to ensure deadlines are delivered at work, Christmas parties are planned, presents are bought and the Christmas meal is just perfect. For most, this can be a particularly energy draining time of year.
Just ask anyone you know, they’ll bring up that they are tired. Partly, it's due to the short days and lack of daylight. The other factor is the diet and lifestyle that most are living. With a lack of nutrients in the food being consumed, alcohol consumption going up in December and sleep going down due to late night partying, this all leads to tiredness. But these aren’t the only reason for being tired. Let us explore other reasons that could contribute to tiredness.
So what can be done to get your energy levels up to an optimum level for you? Well firstly, if you have been feeling a lack of energy and it’s a sudden change, go see your GP or a medical professional. You’ll most likely need a blood test or another medical test to confirm that your basic tests results are normal for you. If they do, then you need to look into other options such as your diet or lifestyle. Let us explore this a little more :
The latest scientific research also shows that long term effects of having low energy, that is also one of the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has detrimental effects on the immune system. One study has shown that CFS that leads to a compromised immune system is a contributing factor to major diseases such as cancer .
Caffeine intake should be managed sensibly and you should be avoiding caffeine after 4pm. I would also suggest that you avoid lots of sugar, as you’ll get energy spikes that will throw your body out of balance. I’ll be writing a timely blog on sugar at some point in January 2018!
Other things you can do to improve your energy levels are to ensure you don’t work yourself up over small things, which tends to happen around the festive season. Nothing is ever perfect in life, and if things don’t go to plan it’s not the end of the world. Use the holiday season to recharge and reflect on the year, spend time with friends and family, have fun at parties if that’s your thing, avoid shopping and the stress that comes with it (unless you enjoy it) and be grateful for what you have. Always keep things in perspective, you’ll live a much happier life :-)
If you feel you could benefit from a consultation on boosting your energy levels or require general guidance on nutritional support and how to live a balanced lifestyle please contact me at firstname.lastname@example.org or visit my website by going to www.urbanplatehealth.com