Day of Rest

We had a big dinner party last night and I am tired. I blew off church to clean up the kitchen after a 10 course Chinese dinner for 15 fellow Carleton alums. After cleaning and putting the house back together I went back to bed for a nap. I have basically done nothing today. A day of rest. I am tired and have been making poor food choices because of lack of sleep.

"According to the National Sleep Foundation, the average woman gets only six and a half hours of sleep per night. Chronic sleep deprivation can have a variety of effects on the metabolism and overall health. Inadequate sleep:
1 Interferes with the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates and causes high blood levels of glucose, which leads to higher insulin levels and greater body-fat storage.
2 Drives down leptin levels, which causes the body to crave carbohydrates.
3 Reduces levels of growth hormone--a protein that helps regulate the body's proportions of fat and muscle.
4 Can lead to insulin resistance and contribute to increased risk of diabetes
5 Can increase blood pressure
6 can increase the risk of heart disease
Even in young, healthy people, a sleep deficit of three to four hours a night over the course of a week has a triple-whammy effect on the body. Just this limited amount of sleep deficit interfered with the ability to process carbohydrates, manage stress, and maintain a proper balance of hormones. In just one sleep-restricted week, the study participants had a significant loss in their ability to process glucose and an accompanying rise in insulin. Insulin levels were so high, in fact, that the men were considered to be in a pre-diabetic state." (from Sleep More, Lose Weight: Getting Enough Snooze Time May Be The Best Diet Secret of All By Mary Shomon, About.com Updated: September 07, 2007)

Bottom line I should not have stayed up until midnight last night watching that movie and having that beer, winding down, because I had to pay for it twice today- tired and unproductive all day and making bad food choices. I wasn't even motivated to exercise on this gorgeous day. Now I know that getting my beauty rest is critical to staying on my plan.