High Fat Diet Linked to Poor Sleep

[historyteach]

Once more, I got a great article in my email, and wanted to share this with you all. I was unaware of this particular link to sleep problems, though, I *did* know that eating too much caused me to have disrupted sleep.

High-Fat Diet Linked to Poor Sleep
Study Shows Fat-Laden Dinner Ups Risk of Disruptive Sleep
By Charlene Laino
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDJune 10, 2008 (Baltimore) -Add poor sleep to the long list of health complaints associated with eating a high-fat diet.

Brazilian researchers have found that the more fat you consume each day, the less likely you are to get a good night's sleep.

Having a fat-laden cheeseburger and fries for dinner may be particularly disruptive to your sleep pattern, the small study suggests.

Cibele Crispim, MS, of the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, led the study. The findings were presented at SLEEP 2008, the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

High-Fat Diet Disrupts Sleep
Studies in the sleep lab showed that overall, the more fat they ate each day:

The more times they woke up, tossing and turning, throughout the night.
The greater the chance of abnormal breathing while sleeping.
The less time spent in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep each night. REM sleep is the sleep state during which dreaming occurs.

Research has shown that the more REM sleep you get, the more energetic you will feel the next day, says American Academy of Sleep Medicine spokesman Ron Kramer, MD.

"Basically, REM sleep helps to restore your body after a day of life on planet Earth," he says. Kramer is medical director of the Colorado Sleep Disorders Center in Denver.

When meals were analyzed separately, a high-fat dinner alone -- independent of whatever else one ate throughout the day -- raised the risk of disruptive sleep.

While preliminary, the study "is important as it extends our knowledge of the complex relationship between eating and sleeping," Kramer tells WebMD. "These data show that what we eat during the day can have lasting effects, negatively impacting our sleep."

So, who'da thought?

Shalom!

[Impurrfect]

Thanks! I think I need to do a bit of adjusting on my diet! Between that and working 3rd shift, sleep is a problem!

Hugs and prayers!

Amy

[historyteach]

Oh, Amy,

I worked third shift once...
I had a terrible time with it!
Had a party once; did a little bit each day in preparation for it each day prior to the party. Made a big feast!
Fell asleep in the middle of the party! :
Couldn't even enjoy it!
Never want to see third shift again!

Good luck to you!

Shalom!

[Hope]

Thanks for posting that!

I may also be making some adjustments.

I have trouble sleeping most nights. I'm trying to find new ways of doing things that will give me some much needed rest.

[historyteach]

Hope,
Did you read the stickies I posted above?
There's some tips in the one titled "Coping"

Good luck to you, and happy ZZZZZs.

Shalom!

[splendra]

I sleep very little and I also have a low fat diet. I do awaken feeling refreshed though. I am asleep almost before I reach the pillow.

I usually don't sleep more than 4 or 5 hours even when I was a child I would be listening to Johnny Carson and getup and turn off the TV as my dad slept on the couch.

[historyteach]

Splendra,

Falling asleep that quickly at night is a sign of sleep deprivation.
It normally takes a few minutes to drift off into sleep - 10-20 minutes. Those who fall asleep in less than 5 minutes are likely to require some treatment for sleep disorders.
Do you have sleep apnea or any other physical impairment?

Shalom!

[Hope]

Teach,

I need to read the stickies.

Insomnia has really got me down. I barely function in the day. It takes me a few hours to fall asleep and when I do, I still wake up several times.

It is a real problem now that I am taking a (very) early morning class and my brain feels so foggy from lack of sleep.

I do not want to use any sleeping pills. I'm hoping to figure it out without using any form of sleeping pill.

I truly sympathize with anyone else who struggles with insomnia.

[anvilhead]

thanks for this thread. i too have been struggling with sleep for a loooooooonnnggg time now. i'm figuring it's mostly a hormone thing with night sweats etc, plus years of sleeping next to a chainsaw - over time my sleep pattern just got more and more disrupted - if nobody is snoring next to me, i can fall asleep easily.......it's the staying asleep part that drove me to the edge!!!! waking at 12, 2, 4....or 11, 1, 3, or all of the above. plus if i woke up at say 3am, my mind would say, now ya know, ya gotta get up and get the coffee going by 4:45 so don't get too comfy!!! all of which meant there were some nights i don't think i really got more than about 3 hrs of sleep and certainly never got much REM sleep....

so i finally did go talk to the doc and we put me on a sleep aid which has really been a godsend. i don't take it every night, couple 3 times a week, as i want to gently coax my body back into the habit of sleeping better. of course no sooner do i get the prescription filled and start taking it as directed and getting some damn SLEEP then my terrific insurance co tells me they will not refill the prescription unless i first try ANOTHER sleep aid!!!! not because they are real concerned about how the current medication might be working, or bother to ask me the patient how i'm feeling.....nope, purely cost driven......they want me to take the cheaper med..........i was really frosted about the whole thing for a bit, and then realized that sure wasn't getting me anywhere....so i'll be trotting back to the pharmacy for round 2.......

i tried every other dang thing possible first. i can tell you if taken properly under a physician's supervision for the specific purpose of getting a decent night's sleep, Lunesta has been JUST what the doctor ordered!!

[beegee]

I just found this place or I would have been here sooner. I used to sleep 7 hours no problem and I need my sleep. I had some surgery in May and ever since then it is like I can not sleep. I lost my cook so to speak and I just haven't put in any great affort to cook. So I have been eating a lot of crapola with fat. So next week I am gonna start watching what I eat and maybe I can sleep again. Thanks:atv

[beegee]

Well, I have stayed away from fats at all at night infact on my second week. Sorry to say it didn't help my sleeping or not sleeping one bit. So back to popcorn and butter once in awhile. May as well have something I like if I am gonna be awake anyway.

[anvilhead]

i had the ambien prescription filled, took it once, UGH - the sleep part wasn't the problem, it was how awful i felt the next morning. used to feel like that on a crack hangover, NO THANK YOU. so now i'm waiting for the dr to fax the "she failed miserably" form into my insurance so they will "allow" me to get lunesta again.

thus my sleep is back to not so good, from like 2am onward........wanna give a big THANKS for nothing to Premera Blue Cross....

[Jadmack25]

Seeing this made me look at my eating habits, and yes I do have a high fat content in my diet. Have sleepers from Dr, take them every so often. Can take 2 Mogadon at 6pm and still be awake anything up to 1am. Next day feel I've been mugged. Normison isn't so bad, get to sleep within 2 hours and no "hangover" effect next day. Have gone 2 days and nights without sleeping at all, and often go 1 without any. Used to hit the pillow and 10 mins later ZZZZZZ, loved sleeping in too. Now no matter what I am awake by 6am. Will give cutting down fat a try and here's hoping.

[liveweyerd]

Darn, and I thought ice cream before bed was one of my sleep aids!

[Bamboozle]

That might help explain it for me...at least a little bit.

[espresso]

Hi everyone
Gonna read the stickies; I have a low fat diet,don't drink regular coffee after midday. I am probably perimenopausal and at times have depression. Tablets and pills are not an option for me but in the last few days my lack of sleep has got worse. It's just horrendous because it makes me so tired, listless and ratty. Yesterday and Today -I don't feel I'm working a good program because of it!! Urghhhh, anyway Thanks and I will see what other tips are on offer.

[ufe]

A "small study" also revealed that small studies have no statistical validity, or so I heard....

[gonzo9730]

There is alot of sleep tips out there. Exercise is a significant factor aiding in both falling asleep & getting a more restful sleep. For some, it is not recommended to do it within a couple of hours of sleeping because it may get you a little wired without time to wind down. I found after getting off work, doing 30-45 min of exercise before dinner worked well for me.

Funny, now that I haven't been exercising for a bit of a stretch, I have found my sleep hasn't been as good. Another key thing is getting in a routine. This will help set your circadian rythym "body clock". Go to bed at roughly the same time as well as waking up at the same time. If you use weekends or days off as an excuse to go to bed three hours later than usual and waking up later, that can put your clock out of wack.

Other things: avoid caffeine after certain times, don't watch tv in bed "bed is for sleep or sex only", smoking is a stimulant & try to avoid closer to bed time, too much to eat at dinner or to big of a snack before bed; although you don't want to go to bed hungry. It is suggested that if you are hungry you try to have a 100 cal snack w/ some fibre to help control blood sugar during sleep.

Just type in sleep tips on google and you can get a whole slew of suggestions to help out.