Thread: Sleeping more... weighing less

This article was a headline on the MSN webpage today... just thought it a bit interesting... since most of us already know that sleep is important to losing weight....

http://articles.health.msn.com/id/100099931?GT1=5943

I've heard that sleeping is good for weight loss. And I LOVE to sleep! Unfortunately, I'm not an early to bed type of person...and my life is such that I can't be a late riser. Even today, I'm going in late, but had to drive my son to school at 7:40 a.m.

My eyes will be tired, my feet will shuffle and then, come bedtime, I'll go through the routine again. I'll suddenly be wide awake at 9 p.m. and will post or read until 11 or later...all the time wishing for sleepiness.

My body needs 8 to 9 hours every night...and since it doesn't get it, it usually just crashes on my day off. I'll sleep more and laze around all day, maybe getting in a nap if I'm lucky....and then it starts again.

Maybe it's time to pull the melatonin out of the cupboard again. Taking it 20 minutes before bedtime really does help. But if I keep myself going for 40 minutes, the sleepy feeling completely leaves me.

I CAN sleep, I just don't like to go to bed! And I don't like getting up once I'm in there!

Mine really is a self-discipline issue. DH goes to bed at 9:00 sharp. I get there between 10:30 and 12:30, depending. And I get up between 5:30 and 6:00. So, I am chronically sleep deprived.
I read somewhere (in a l/c mag) that NOT getting enough sleep can lower a person's metabolism by 30-40%! Yikes. I've gotta get my butt to bed! Myabe this is why I'm a card-carrying member of the Turtles Club! I just have such a great time here, visiting every night.....

Hmmm....if I was up for another challenge...which I'm not, I'd suggest a going to bed on time challenge. That one will be especially tough to do come summer when it doesn't get dark until 9 p.m.

I am like Sunny, go to bed around 9PM (that's after nodding off for about a hour on the sofa) and get up around 4:30-5:00. That gives me 7.5 to 8 hours a night. Wake up raring to go.

I never used to do this. But I got in the habit when we were moving. Because I had so much to do, I started setting the alarm for 5AM so I could pack some stuff prior to starting my work day. A few days of this, put me in bed earlier. Then it became a habit because I enjoyed having all those hours free in the early AM to do whatever I wanted. It's MY time. However, I do miss some of my 9PM TV shows!

I have also read that your bed should be strictly for sleeping. For instance, don't do paperwork, etc. in bed. Reading is OK. After a while, your mind will equate the bed with sleeping, and when you do go to bed, your mind will relax and you'll go to sleep! Of course, that was just a theory . . . .

I am horrible about watching tv, reading books, doing homework, and playing videogames from my bed late at night. Maybe that's why it's so hard for me to relax and fall asleep. I'm going to force myself to only do those things from the chair or floor or at my desk, so that I can start associating my bed with nothing but sleep. Good point Alida!

I go to sleep fine..I just can't STAY asleep. For several months now I have been waking up around 3 or 3:30 and can't go back to sleep until maybe 5, then I have to get up at 5:30. It is driving me CRAZY!! Not helping with the weight loss either, I'm sure.

I have both problems. It takes a minimum of 45 min to an hour to go to sleep and then I don't stay asleep. I have been taking Tylenol PM for YEARS just to get to sleep, and like someone else said about the melatonin, If I wait too long, I'll be wide awake for hours. And heaven help me if I start reading...heavy sedatives couldn't make me sleepy then! My Hubby on the other hand can fall asleep mid-sentence!