The decision to go to bed early is the catalyst in making a days worth of good decisions. Let’s get into this right away, shall we?
A good sleep leads to regulated hormones
Let’s go through the basics of our hunger hormones and particularly how they are affected when we don’t get enough sleep.
There are three hormones to talk about here — grehlin, leptin, and neuropeptide Y.
Ghrelin is a multifacted gut hormone that’s released by the stomach, the pancreas and the brain. One of its main roles is to tell us that we’re hungry. So it would make sense that ghrelin levels are at their highest right before a meal. We often call it the ‘hunger hormone’ because it stimulates appetite, increases food intake and promotes fat storage.
Leptin is the essentially the opposite. This hormone is produced in the small intestine and works by regulating energy balance by inhibiting hunger. Leptin levels will be at their highest right after a meal. It does a great job of communicating to the brain when we have enough energy in the system, particularly our fat cells, for the body to engage in activity.
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a peptide thats found in the nervous system which consists of the brain and the spinal cord. The NPY pathway stimulates an increase in appetite and food intake after exercise, energy loss and fasts. Studies have shown that an increase in NPY is linked to cravings in carbohydrates as well. There are other factors that can contribute to and increase in NPY levels like insignificant protein intake.
These three hormones are best regulated when we get enough sleep.
Any sleep deprivation can affect your body’s ability to regulate other hormones as well such as our stress hormone called cortisol and growth hormone which allows us to recover.
Getting enough sleep is crucial for maintaing healthy levels of our appetite regulating hormones and our blood glucose levels.
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