SLEEP, PEOPLE!

With all the dietary changes, exercise classes, new recipes and weekly menu planning that we do in pursuit of better health, we forget that the most basic thing could be keeping our weight loss goals and overall wellbeing beyond our grasp: SLEEP.  Most of us desperately need more sleep and downtime with screens turned off.

I am guilty as charged. I find myself, several times a week after midnight, staring bleary-eyed at my computer or TV, trying desperately to grab onto a few extra minutes of non-work, non-family "me time." But it's actually not "me time" because when I finally snap out of it, I realize that I have been lost for hours in the clutches of ebay or Bravo. It is distracting, stimulating and totally unproductive - the opposite of restful.

The New York Times published an article recently about the impact of sleep on weight gain. Basically, scientific studies have shown that when we are sleep deprived, we crave fatty, sugary, high-calorie food.  There's no debate about that, and, on top of those cravings, now we know that lack of sleep also disables the prefrontal cortex, the rational, decision-making part of the brain that helps us make measured, healthy decisions.  It's a one-two punch: cravings for crappy food combined with an inability to make rational decisions.  If you've started your day with too little sleep, you are valiantly fighting a losing battle.

The only way around it is to be proactive. Figure out what time you would like to be asleep and turn the screens off an hour in advance. Settle in to a good book, a trashy magazine, a cup of herbal tea, or a hot bath. Stretch, or take a gentle walk around the block. Whatever you do, don't pay bills or try to get any work done.

Like I said, I'm guilty as charged.  So this week and next, I'm going to give it a go. Screens off by 10:30. Precious sleep by 11:30. If I can do that... oh, the places I'll go.