sleep

According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, about 11 percent of Americans did not get enough “sleep or rest” on any night in the past 30 days. A little more than 30 percent said they got enough rest or sleep every night in the last month.

A quarter of those surveyed who were unemployed said they didn’t get enough rest any night in the last 30 days.

The study seems to confirm the anecdotal belief that west coasters are more laid back than the east coast. Twelve of the 14 best-sleeping states were west of the Mississippi.

The report wasn’t very in depth, as they just asked people about their perception of how much sleep they got, not the actual hours.

Being healthy isn’t all about just hitting the gym and eating right, although it helps; there is much more involved in the health equation. It is recommended that you get at least 30 to 60 minutes of exercise per day at least five days per week. I understand that exercising is a huge time commitment and that life is busy, but try to follow the recommendations the best you can.

Remember, if you are not breaking a sweat, you are not working hard enough!

So, putting exercise aside, being healthy mentally and physically requires a lot more than just getting the heart rate up. Below are 10 simple ways to a healthier you! Each of the following will help increase your energy levels and in turn, better workouts and more productive days will be the result.

It has long been thought that it’s not just what you eat but when you eat that has an effect on gaining weight. A new study reaffirms this.

Researchers fed mice a high-fat diet during the normal time they ate. Those mice gained about 20 percent of their weight over a six-week period. But, when the researchers fed other mice the same diet, but during the time that they would normally be sleeping, those mice put on 48 percent of their weight.

While these results need to be duplicated in a human study, the researchers believe that the results will be the same.

Poor eating habits are the obvious and overwhelming cause of diabetes. Now researchers are saying that lack of sleep can lead to the blood disorder.

This past spring, researchers found that people who get less than six hours of sleep each night are more likely to develop impaired fasting glucose, or pre-diabetes.

A more recent study of five men and six women varied their sleep time for 14-day periods. The subjects averaged 40 years old. And while they were all a little overweight, they were otherwise healthy. The participants stayed in a lab where their sleep, activity, diet, and blood chemistry were monitored.

If you are like most people out there trying to lose weight, chances are you aren’t doing at least a few of these five weight loss strategies on a regular basis. Check your behaviors against this list and let me know how you measure up!

1. Dieting at Night – The key to weight loss is eating, believe it or not. You need to fuel your body with healthy food during the day, starting with breakfast and have a lighter dinner; then let the dieting begin right when you are winding down. I usually tell my clients to focus on “protein and produce” at dinner. Swap your salad at lunch for a tuna wrap (choose either light mayo or cheese not both) and have an entree salad at dinner.

2. Controlling Alcohol Intake – This is probably the #1 behavior I see with clients who are trying to lose weight when they first come in. They say they drink 1-2 times a week, but then their food journal shows 2 glasses of wine.