The link between sleep and your appetite
Do you feel like you’re constantly trying to regulate your appetite?
Perhaps you wake up in the morning promising yourself that today will be the day you forgo that morning muffin, turn away afternoon snacks or stop yourself from reaching into the pantry or freezer after dinner.
A large part of whether you will be able to regulate your appetite today actually started when your head hit the pillow last night.
Inside your body you have two hormones, ghrelin and leptin, that work in a seesaw-like manner to help regulate your appetite, satiety and energy balance. Ghrelin stimulates your hunger while leptin lets you know when your hunger is satisfied.
But this hormonal seesaw starts to tip out of balance when we don’t get enough sleep – leptin (satiety) is lowered and ghrelin (hunger) is raised.
This is one mechanism behind why we might find ourselves reaching for quick energy sources (think sugar) when we’re tired. It’s more than just fatigue urging us to seek a fast fix – these hormones play a major role.
Even just one night of poor sleep can mess with your body’s innate appetite control system. And when poor sleep happens chronically, it can lead you to experience cravings and to overeat, as the hormones involved in regulating your appetite become unbalanced due to a lack of restorative rest.
Because of this, a wonderful way to help regulate your appetite in a healthy way is to focus on your sleep.
Trouble switching off in the evenings is one of the biggest blocks to getting great rest, so setting up some routines before bed that help you to wind down can be incredibly supportive. As well as reducing the amount of light you’re exposed to and limiting your screen time in the evenings, you might like to support your body to wind down with the help of some calming herbs.
Calm Restore contains a beautiful combination of chamomile, magnolia, zizyphus, lemon balm and withania, which together work to ease your body into a great night’s sleep.
This non-drowsy formula can actually be taken at any time of the day to help ease anxious feelings and induce a sense of calm. It is particularly helpful 30 minutes before bed to help promote great rest.
If you feel like your appetite control centre could use a rebalance, try taking Calm Restore for 2-3 months to help your body enhance the quality of your rest.
