Between 50 and 70 million U.S. adults suffer from sleepless nights. Chronic sleep deprivation can have serious health consequences, including a doubled mortality risk when sleeping fewer than seven hours a night. That risk quadruples when it’s less than six hours a night. Some scary stuff.
Makers Nutrition’s priority is, and always has been, helping brands promote healthier living for their customers. While supplements absolutely benefit the body’s ability to function optimally, one component some neglect in their busy schedules is sleep.
Sleep Deprivation: Your Diet's Worst Enemy
Many people don’t know that a sleepy brain and body can impact how their bodies respond to food. Take Susie for example, who has yet to strike a healthy balance between work and home life. And these days, we can all attest to the difficulty of tearing yourself away when work IS home.
When Susie is sleep-deprived, the brain’s reward centers, like the putamen thalamus, and accumbens, rev their engines. These regions, looking to be fulfilled, guide Susie to, say, a whole row of Oreos, at midnight. When a pattern of sleep-deprived eating arises, Susie becomes frustrated with both her inability to sleep and her newly gained weight.
Without those 7-9 hours of rest, activity in the brain’s front lobe is dulled, which is dangerous as this lobe is responsible for decision making and impulse control. If it’s a salad versus a Big Mac, you can bet Susie will go for the Big Mac instead.
A lack of sleep alters how food is metabolized or converted to fuel for the body. Cortisol, which controls metabolism and the immune response, can shoot up, signaling that Susie’s body should conserve energy when it does not necessarily have to. Cells may then become insulin resistant, which means more sugar may remain in Susie’s bloodstream and more insulin may be produced to compensate. These changes in metabolism can cause the body to grip onto unwanted fat and burn fewer calories.
When Hunger Ensues
Susie then wonders why she is so hungry ALL THE TIME. Plenty of research has shown the connection between lack of sleep and increased appetite, which is likely due to the “hunger hormones” ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone that signals the brain when the body is hungry. Levels are usually high before eating, and low after. A lack of sleep causes an increase in ghrelin, leading Susie to feel hungrier than she should. Leptin suppresses hunger and tells the brain the body is full. Susie, unfortunately, hasn’t been sleeping more than 4 hours, so her body is producing less leptin, leaving her feeling not only hungry, but unsatisfied.
The Need for Sleep
Running all day, not sleeping at night, it just doesn’t work. Contrary to Susie’s sleep-when-it’s-done attitude, obtaining adequate sleep is just as vital as the nutrients she hasn’t been taking. Which nutrients could YOUR brand offer in supplement form as Susie gets herself back on track?
- Vitamin C: People who have low blood levels of vitamin C are more likely to have issues staying asleep and are prone to waking up during the night.
- Magnesium: This mineral can help Susie’s body produce more melatonin, while also relieving muscle tension that poses a threat to restful sleep. Magnesium can also ease tension by encouraging production of GABA, an amino acid that relaxes the nervous system.
- Vitamin D: Studies suggest an association between low levels of vitamin D and poor sleep quality. Susie looks forward to spending more time outside before it gets too cold, which is ideal since it is difficult to get an adequate dose of vitamin D from food alone. Since the sun can’t always be depended on either, your supplement can be the one Susie turns to for a boost.
Scrolling less at night, slowing her mind down before bed, and reorganizing a more realistic task list will surely help get Susie back on track for some much-needed nightly sleep.
Sleep Supplement Manufacturing Services
An internationally chosen Company of the Year of 2020, our team would appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate exactly why Makers Nutrition is #YourSupplementSolution. There is no better customer service, quality in product, or one-stop solution than #YourSupplementSolution. Ditch the dilemmas, forget the hassles, and switch to a supplement manufacturing company you can trust today!
Sources
- McClain, Rand. “The Quality of Your Sleep Profoundly Affects.” Creations Magazine, vol. 34, no. 3, 2020, pp. 14-15. https://www.thehealthy.com/nutrition/vitamins/best-vitamins-for-sleep/
- https://www.thehealthy.com/nutrition/vitamins/best-vitamins-for-sleep/