Hello and welcome to the Nutrition Diva podcast. I'm your host Monica Reinegel. And today

I'm going to be sharing some new research on sleep and appetite as well as maybe unusual

but effective approach for dealing with chronic insomnia.

Have you ever noticed that you feel hungrier or have uncontrollable cravings for certain

foods after a poor night's sleep? It's not just your imagination. Studies have shown that

even a single night of sleep deprivation changes the levels of our hunger and our appetite hormones,

leading to increased hunger. And it also affects the way that your brain's motivation centers

respond to the site or even just the thought of food. Essentially, when you are under rested,

both your body and your brain are sending strong signals that drive you to the drive through.

Those extra calories can easily lead to weight gain. And that would seem to explain the well-documented

connection between under-sleeping and being overweight. Under-sleeping is also associated

with an increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. There is some good news here though.

Researchers from the University of Cape Town in South Africa recently analyzed results from

seven different studies that used various methods to increase sleep duration.

And they found that when people got more sleep, they were less hungry during the day. And even

better, they experienced a reduced desire for sweet and salty foods. So perhaps this is the motivation

that you need to finally get serious about improving your sleep habits. But how? Well, the first step

involves a set of practices that are collectively referred to as sleep hygiene. Now, if you've done

all of that and that doesn't help, I do have some more intensive approaches that you can try. But

let's just start with the basics. Number one, limit caffeine after midday. Caffeine can make you

more alert and boost your ability to concentrate. And it also appears to have neuroprotective properties.

Regular consumption of caffeine reduces the risk of both Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

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