Sugar and Sleep

Having trouble falling or staying asleep lately? Sleep affects so many processes in the body, and fixing sleep can fix or prevent many health issues. 

Sleep is the foundation of health in so many ways. Lack of sleep affects our brain, our appetite, our energy levels, and much more. It is like a cycle because many of our choices we make throughout the day also affects our sleep. 

One thing I have found is that when I don’t get a full night’s sleep, I find myself craving sugar and more unhealthy foods. 

There is a reason for this, and many studies have now been done to show the relationship between sugar and sleep.

Sugar affects sleep

If you are one of the 50-70 million adults in the US who have some sort of sleep disorder, you are probably searching for answers. Sure, there are many pills people can take, but then you have the side effects of those. And do they even work?

According to a study in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, added sugars greatly impacted quality of sleep of participants.

Another study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that a high glycemic index meal disturbed sleep. This could be a high sugar, highly refined carbohydrate meal.

How often do we, out of habit, grap something sweet after dinner or maybe even right before we get in bed?

This habit could be sabotaging your sleep in a major way! Imagine if some simple dietary changes could improve your sleep quality and help you feel better all day.

Sleep affects sugar cravings

Maybe one of the reasons you feel like you can’t get off the sugar roller coaster is that you’re really sleep deprived.

It’s common for us to blame sugar cravings on a lack of willpower or a character flaw, but honestly it can also be physiological in nature. Once you understand this, you can be empowered to make decisions to get you off the sugar addiction cycle.

A study in the Journal of Sleep Research found that people who said they had poor sleep quality had more sugar cravings. Another explanation could be that the hunger hormone “ghrelin” is increased when we don’t have a good night’s sleep.

According to a study in the Journal Sleep, having 2 nights of poor sleep quality can increase ghrelin and decrease leptin, both of which can affect appetite.

Steps you can take to get off the sugar sleep cycle:

1. Stop the added sugars.

You may not need to avoid sugar forever, but if you are hooked on sugar, this is a great time to do a sugar detox. Sometimes by quitting sugar for a time, we realize how much we have actually been eating. Sign up below for a FREE 10-Day Sugar Detox Challenge that can help improve sleep quickly!

2. Do everything in your power to get a better night’s sleep.

Be sure you give yourself some screen-free wind-down time. Simple things like reading before bed, adding curtains to block light, and avoiding stressful conversations late at night can all help you finally get a good night’s sleep.

A high sugar diet and quality sleep don’t mix well. As you focus on fixing one, you can often see improvement in the other area. Our bodies are complex, and many of our lifestyle choices affect other aspects of life. Incorporating more whole, unprocessed foods can help you start getting some quality sleep.