The Wellness Connection: Diet and Sleep

If you struggle with chronic food cravings, added pounds, lethargy and poor food choices, your path to wellness may start in your bedroom.

Sleep is "inherently linked" with what and how much you eat, how you exercise and whether or not you successfully manage your weight, says the National Sleep Foundation. Yet according to the 2011 Annual Sleep in America poll, 43 percent of Americans ages 13 to 64 report rarely or never getting a good night's sleep on weeknights. And although most say they function best on 7.5 hours of nightly sleep, markedly less is common.

Weighty Issues

Sleeping too little puts you at risk for weight gain, regardless of how much you eat or exercise. In a report published in "Obesity" in 2008, 17 of 23 studies on sleep duration and weight showed an independent link between little sleep and added pounds. Sleep deficiencies also add vigor to your appetite, causing food cravings to pop up more often.

"Lack of sleep has a negative impact on your appetite-regulating hormones," says Linda Kaminski, a registered dietitian and diabetes educator. "According to the research, sleep deprivation results in higher levels of ghrelin -- a hormone that stimulates appetite. Therefore, the less sleep you get, the more hungry you are, and the greater the risk of overeating and subsequent weight gain."

Short sleep duration also suppresses your body's release of leptin -- a hormone that promotes fullness. With a decrease in this hormone, each time you eat, you're more likely to consume more calories than your body needs.

"Likewise, a sleep-deprived overweight or obese person is going to be less successful at weight loss if he or she is always hungry and never seems to feel full because hunger-regulating hormones are out of whack," said Kaminski. "For successful weight control, quality sleep will stabilize these hormones to more normal levels, helping to restore the body’s natural appetite and satiety regulation."

Additionally, irritability, fatigue and feeling overwhelmed derived from poor sleep can contribute to weight gain by triggering cravings for quick, pick-me-up or "comfort" foods, like cookies, candy and soft drinks.

"Intake of sugary junk foods will certainly provide a temporary energy boost, aka a sugar buzz," says Kaminski, "only to crash and feel worse than before once blood sugar levels return to normal. This buzz versus crash cycle can also happen to a person who overconsumes caffeine in the effort to compensate for lack of sleep."

Weight gain and obesity increase your risk for sleep apnea -- a breathing disorder that causes repeated stops in breathing in an estimated 18 million Americans, according to 2011 information from the NSF. In addition to reducing your sleep quality, sleep apnea contributes to serious health risks, including heart attack, heart failure, stroke and excessive daytime sleepiness.

Eating Right

What you eat throughout the day and near bedtime can help determine whether or not you sleep well.

"One of the main reasons people have difficulty sleeping is because they are mismanaging cortisol," says Dr. Craig Koniver, a physician and founder of Organic Medicine Now. "For many people, their cortisol levels are high at night when they should be low. If we look at it why this is, the most significant etiology for high cortisol at night is poor dietary choices."

Cortisol is a hormone your body releases in times of stress. It also signals your liver to make new blood sugar when yours is low. If you wake up in the middle of the night feeling wide awake, your blood sugar has likely dropped, triggering the release of cortisol.

As a remedy, Koniver recommends eating a small bedtime snack containing fat and protein, such as a protein shake, fruit with peanut butter or cottage cheese with nuts. Protein and fat take longer to digest compared with starchy foods, thus promoting stable blood sugar throughout the night.

Chosen appropriately, carbohydrate-rich foods can also help you sleep. Carbohydrates help your brain produce the chemical serotonin, which promotes calmness. The National Science Federation suggests pairing carbohydrates with protein, which provides tryptophan -- an amino acid that helps your brain properly utilize serotonin -- before bed. For best results, choose healthy whole-grain carbohydrates. These foods have a milder effect on your blood sugar compared to refined foods, such as white bread, pretzels and candy.

For two to three hours before bed, avoid foods that can interfere with restful sleep, such as spicy and fatty foods, particularly if you're prone to heartburn or acid reflux. Overeating before bed can disrupt sleep by causing uncomfortable fullness or indigestion and making your digestive system work harder than it should while your body is moving toward rest. If you are sensitive to caffeine, Kaminski suggests stopping caffeine use by 3 p.m. And limiting water shortly before bed can help prevent middle of the night toilet trips.

"The typical American consumes most of his or her calories in the evening," says Kaminski. "Busy lifestyles may lead to skipping breakfast, grabbing a quick bite for lunch, and then feeling ravenous upon return home for dinner in the evening. This results in overeating at dinner and possibly continuous snacking all evening long to make up for what was not eaten during the day. Late-day eating can certainly disrupt sleep, as the body is busy digesting and metabolizing food, rather than allowing itself to relax and prepare for sleep."

A better option? Eating balanced meals and snacks at reasonable intervals throughout each day.

Sleep Hygiene

The term "hygiene" goes beyond facial cleansing and toothbrushing. Positive sleep hygiene, or sleep routine, often plays an important role in improving sleep quality, which makes way for dietary benefits.

"People have very poor sleep hygiene," says Amy Korn-Reavis, a registered respiratory therapist and registered polysomnography technologist who runs a sleep lab for diagnosing and treating sleep disorders. "Because we have 24-hour lives, we have put the importance of sleep on the back burner. Creating a good sleep routine prior to going to bed, having a good sleep environment and going to bed at the same time every night really helps to get a good night sleep."

Your sleep routine should begin 20 to 40 minutes before turning in, says Korn-Reavis. During this time, turn down your lights, avoid using electronic devices and do something relaxing, like meditation, reading or taking a warm shower. Warm water lowers your body temperature, which is natural aspect of your body's sleep, or circadian, rhythm. To avoid stress and stimulation, rid your bedroom of clutter and TV.

Koniver recommends moving late-day exercise earlier in the day to help prevent cortisol increases from disrupting sleep. And, if possible, incorporate ample sun exposure into your morning routine. Light signals your body to stop producing melatonin -- a hormone that regulates your circadian rhythm. This is another reason avoiding light before and once you're in bed promotes restful sleep.

"It takes about 12 hours for our melatonin cycles to reset," Koniver said, "so if they don't see and feel sunlight until 10 a.m., they won't start feeling tired until at least 10 p.m. Far better for people to get up early, go outside and get sunlight on their face -- without sunglasses -- so that their melatonin cycles will kick in faster."

"I find that it is healthier for people to live by the sun -- get up with the sun and go to bed within at least one to two hours of the sun setting," Koniver added.

If you work night shifts, do your best to stick to routine daytime sleep times and sleep in a dark, comfortable environment. As with nighttime sleepers, staying well-nourished by eating nutritious meals and snacks throughout your shifts can prevent nutrient deficiencies, blood sugar imbalances and insomnia.