• Healthy sleep habits—mostly getting at least 8 hours,
• A modified high-protein diet, and
• One day of smoothies, or a “liquid diet” each week.

In my first blog on the subject, I covered the Overnight Diet basics. In my second blog, I explored some of the hormonal links between sleep and weight—how sleep deprivation can trigger hormonal responses that make you feel hungrier. I also said that there’s no way you can burn enough calories while you sleep to drop the kind of weight Apovian claims you will.

That may not be entirely true. Today, I want to spend a little time on what we know about sleep and metabolism. Then I’ll leave it to you to decide.

Sleep and Metabolism

In 2010, research reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine (and reported by Psychology Today) found that sleeping enough is, by itself, an exceptionally powerful diet aid. The study followed two groups, one which got 8.5 hours of sleep per night and one which got only 5.5 hours of sleep per night over two weeks. All ate about 1450 calories each day.

By the end of the study, those who got more sleep lost significantly more weight than the sleep-deprived group. More than half the weight lost over an 8.5-hour sleep span will be fat, while just one quarter of the weight lost during 5.5 hours is fat. Those who didn’t sleep enough actually lost 60 percent more muscle than the group that slept enough. So losing three hours of sleep each night, much like eating too little, can stress the body to the point that it preserves fat at the expense of muscle.

People who slept those extra three hours burned 400 more calories per night, on average—that’s 2800 per week! While it’s not the 7000 or 8000 calories you’d really need to burn two pounds of body fat overnight, it’s still a significant increase.

Apovian’s diet combines healthy eating, plenty of protein, a day of “liquid food,” and quality sleep habits to encourage weight loss. While I’m still hung up on “two pounds overnight,” it’s quite honestly one of the most well-rounded and thought-provoking weight loss strategies I’ve seen lately.

So what do you think? After looking at the science and the hype, can the diet make a difference?

Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.

Weight and Sleep

Keith Ayoob of Albert Einstein College of Medicine told ABC News that if you do lose two pounds in the first night, “It won’t be fat. It’ll be mostly water. Because there’s no how, no way you’re going to lose two pounds of body fat overnight.”

Ayoob continued, “In order to lose two pounds of body fat overnight you’d have to burn up about six or seven thousand calories” – and if vigorous exercise doesn’t burn those kinds of calories, snoozing certainly doesn’t. Helping your body manage water effectively is one key to healthy weight loss, and quality sleep helps. But burning noticeable amounts of body fat while sleeping isn’t really in the cards.

Sleep and Weight

David Rapoport, MD, of the Sleep Medicine Program at the New York University School of Medicine, told WebMD that many hormones are affected by quantity and quality of sleep – and that some of those hormones regulate hunger.

The hormones leptin and ghrelin are both affected by sleep, and both appear to regulate weight. I’ve explored the link between obesity and sleep deprivation on the blog in a previous post, and new research on these hormones suggests that people who sleep less eat more and make poorer food choices. One study found that people who slept less ate an average of 549 more calories daily during the course of the study – that’s enough to make a significant difference in weight over time.

So Does It Work?

Getting a good night’s sleep is always sound advice. Good sleep will help you regulate hunger and make better choices about food – among other things. And a high-protein, low carb diet can help you take off the weight… though it’s imperative that you eat plenty of fruits and veggies – especially leafy greens – if you want to undertake a high protein diet safely. Just munching on meat and cheese all day won’t cut it.

If you want the Overnight Diet to help you knock off two pounds of body fat right off the bat and kick all that extra weight to the curb with no exercise and no health consequences, you’re going to have to think again. If you see this diet for what it is – sound advice cloaked in sensationalism – you’ll probably be satisfied.

Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.

The Diet

According to the book, dieters spend six days out of each week on a high protein diet and one day of each week on a liquid diet. Proponents say the diet allows people to lose weight quickly and easily. Critics say the high protein diet can cause health problems (like high cholesterol and blood pressure)—and that the claim of losing weight while you sleep is misleading.

The Sleep Factor

Apovian claims that a good, full night’s sleep can let you “lose up to two pounds overnight,” according to ABC News. In addition, she says getting plenty of sleep every night keeps you from feeling hunger pangs, since those pangs are often part of the body’s hormonal response to sleep deprivation.

It’s possible that there’s some truth to this diet. There are some interesting connections between hunger, weight, and sleep. Next time, we’ll dig into the science behind sleep and weight. In the meantime, what do you think?

Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.

What we’re going for here are simple tricks that help your little one feel as if going to bed were fun, or as if it were her idea in the first place. Here are a couple of nice examples:

1. Toddler Tantrum Takedown: Chris Thompson over at Talking to Toddlers mentioned a recent episode where his fussy, sleepy daughter didn’t want to turn off the TV before bed. Instead of becoming The Enforcer, he gave his toddler the remote, showed her the off button, and began creeping toward the TV. He turned it into a race – “I wonder if you’ll beat me to it.” It worked.

2. Sneaky Spring Forward: KJ Dell’antonia of Motherlode writes about working with her little ones ahead of time to get them ready for daylight savings – but instead of letting them know about the experiment, she just implemented it without their knowledge. She asked everyone to start their bedtime routines half an hour earlier – and since she already had a standard routine in place, once the wheels were set in motion the kids wound up falling asleep earlier and waking earlier, making morning feel relaxed and organized.

Creativity, Not Cruelty

No matter what, don’t resort to tricks that will make your child feel embarrassed or used if they discover the ruse. And for goodness’ sake, try not to flat-out lie!

Creativity and a willingness to play can go a long way when it comes to working with children. Make something fun and they’ll respond eagerly instead of balking at your request. And sometimes, what they don’t know won’t hurt ‘em.

Have you ever tricked your little one as part of the bedtime routine? Did it work or backfire?

Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.

Jack-In-The-Box Sleepers

Is your child a little one who just WILL NOT go to sleep? The one who pops out of bed as soon as you walk away so he can play with a toy, or who reads under the covers with a flashlight until all hours of the night? If you have a jack-in-the-box who pops up to keep playing, you’re going to have to discourage the behavior without escalating into a power struggle.

Take Away the Temptation

To avoid a power struggle, simply remove the temptation. These kids want stimulation instead of the quiet stillness that breeds sleep – and it’s understandable. That child wants to stay engaged, so when you enter the bedroom to correct the problem behavior you’re only adding to the reward… even if you think you’re doling out a punishment.

The best way to get out of that Catch-22 is to short-circuit it. If your child grabs a book, remove all the books from the bookshelves. Toys? Take them all out of the bedroom. If the immediate chance to engage with a favorite plaything is gone, it’s more likely that your little one will stay in bed in the first place.

Co-Sleeping

As I mentioned in my last blog, co-sleeping presents its own set of challenges. In that situation, your child may want to engage with you more than with toys or books. Implementing a signal or a key phrase that says “time to stop talking and start resting” can help your child get into the habit of settling into stillness even while you’re still right beside her.

Clean Out…

Though this may be the cardinal sin for attachment parents, it needs to be said. For some kids, solo sleeping is the only way they can relax and disengage from the desire to find stimulation. Just as removing the books and toys can help a child settle down, sometimes removing yourself is the best way to let a child rest peacefully. If you’ve co-slept for a long time this can be difficult, even heart-wrenching. But sometimes, that inability to relax is a signal that your child is ready to sleep in his own space.

Have you removed books and toys – or yourself – from your kids’ sleep space? What worked for you?

Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.

Source: preschooler.thebump.com

Want your little ones to fall asleep quickly and easily, without the hassle and huffiness of backfired bedtimes? In my current blog series, I’m explaining my patented “5 C’s” for peaceful kiddie slumber. Today, let’s cover # 3: Cuddle!

Slow Down

Having built-in cuddle time in the bedtime routine invites your child to slow down without the immediate separation of falling asleep. If you co-sleep, cuddling is the first step to a peaceful night. If your child sleeps in her own room, cuddling is an inviting transition time that helps her to feel comfortable and loved in her own bed. Slow down together, and you’ll find your little ones are more ready to:

Settle Down

I briefly mentioned the importance of a good snuggle in my first overview blog on the 5 C’s. Kids are born to connect. At some primal level, wrapping up with a loved one may be emblematic of being back in the womb, snug and warm against a grown-up’s heartbeat. Children instinctively settle in for rocking or curling up under the covers. If you have a particularly determined wiggler, use a book, a story, a song or another personalized distraction to help her keep her body (mostly) still while you cuddle. After a few minutes of snuggle time, you’ll find she’s more still and settled on her own.

Snuggle Down

If you co-sleep, remove the temptation to talk and interact all night with some kind of agreed-upon signal. Say, “okay, time to snuggle down” or find a cue that works for you to indicate that talking time is over and resting time has begun. The same trick works for solo sleepers. Divert the endless “one more story?” routine by creating a nightly habit that signals the body and brain to switch from “Must… Stay… Awake…” to “Time to Relax.”

Does snuggling help your children get to sleep? Does it help you get to sleep?

Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.

Source: maternityinstitute.com

Source: SleepBetterLiveBetter.net

What makes bedtime a good time for you and your kids? In my current blog series I’m covering my own personal “5 C’s” for a happy, self-contained bedtime routine that works. Today I want to have a closer look at #2: Cut Up!

Exercise, Sleep, and Kids

A New Zealand study reported on NursingTimes.net found that kids who exercise less during the day take longer to fall asleep at bedtime. Children who fell asleep faster also slept longer. The findings support the day-to-day experience of hundreds of thousands of parents – get them to move while there’s daylight, then get them ready for bed before they’re overtired, and they’ll sleep soundly. So cut up, goof off, and otherwise find excuses to cavort during the day. The more they move, the better they’ll sleep.

What’s Exercise?

A child doesn’t need to go on a mile run or play an entire soccer match to have gotten exercise. Just get moving. Walk to the mailbox. Take the bikes for a spin. Play tag. Tickle her. Help her stand on her head or pretend to be a ballerina – or tie a towel around her shoulders and let her run around in circles as the newest caped superhero.

Kids like to move. Just help them find creative outlets for that energy, and keep it fun. Encourage the habit young, and you’ll set your little ones up for a lifetime of healthy movement and peaceful sleep.

Do you exercise with your kids? Or encourage them to exercise? Do you think it helps them sleep?

Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.

Source: dosomething.org

Source: tidyhouse.info

In my last blog, I laid out my personal “5 C’s” for a happy bedtime. Following these simple tips can help turn a rowdy, frustrating bedtime back into the peaceful in-between time it should be.

Today I want to have a closer look at “C” #1: Clean Up. Why is it important and what’s to be gained by spending precious evening moments cleaning?

Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene, or the habits we keep that help us sleep well, can be important at any age. Having a bedtime routine is part of healthy sleep hygiene; so is a peaceful, uncluttered sleeping environment that lends itself to relaxation. For kids, that de-cluttering can be particularly important, since children are easily convinced that the forgotten jacket slung over a chair back is really a monster out to eat them, or the giant teddy bear in the middle of the floor must certainly be creeping closer every minute.

Cleanliness

Mattresses can be breeding grounds for mold spores, dust mites, and other health-harming creepy crawlies. Keeping a clean bedroom is the best way to ensure that your little one isn’t sleeping on allergy inducers or health hazards. And since a child who can breathe well and who doesn’t sneeze or cough sleeps better than a child with the sniffles, keeping it clean is good for health day and night.

Keep It Fun

Bedtime can be frustrating, or it can be a time for parent and child to bond over a shared routine. Work bedroom straightening into your regular evening schedule. Do it early, before tooth brushing, pajamas, or lullabies – and make it fun. Play games, sing a song, or just take a minute to be in the same room with your kid(s), working together toward a goal. You may be surprised what a difference it makes.

Is clean up time part of your evening?

Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.

Source: freshome.com

Source: static.ddmcdn.com

It’s ten minutes past bedtime, and your wiggly little one(s) are running naked down the hall instead of curling up under the covers in their jammies. What’s a mom (or dad) to do?

While every child – and every family – is different, there are a few things that can help. Here are my personally patented Five C’s for a Happy Bedtime:

1. Clean Up. Straighten, de-clutter, and keep it clean. Sleep hygiene makes a difference at any age. Create a calm and soothing bedroom environment with toys tucked neatly away – even if that means making cleanup part of the regular bedtime routine. Cleanliness also means allergens and health hazards like mold won’t make their way into your little ones’ dreamland.

2. Cut Up. Get the wiggles out during the day to avoid them at bedtime.  Tickle them, chase them, play tag, get them outside. Exercise and fresh air during the day can make it easier for a little body to fall asleep in the evening.

3. Cuddle.  Create a bedtime routine, and make snuggling part of it. Curl up together and read a book, or rock and sing a song. Wrapping up helps a child feel secure and relaxed, and signals the body to slow down from the rowdy pace of the day.

4. Clean Out. If you’ve got a little one who stays up all night reading or sneaks out of bed to play with toys, sometimes there’s nothing for it but to remove everything tempting from the bedroom. It doesn’t have to be forever, but removing that stimulus for long enough to set a new habit can make bedtime peaceful again.

 … And if all else fails…

5. Con ‘em! Sometimes as a parent, creativity is key. I never thought I’d use the “Santa Clause is watching” gambit – but I have. Whether we like it or not, parenting has made us all con artists at one point or another. Bending that tendency to the service of a good night’s sleep isn’t such a bad thing… is it?

In my next five blogs I’ll unpack each of my five C’s one by one, so stay tuned!

What are your tips and tricks for a happy bedtime?

Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.

Source: maternityinstitute.com

New Research, New Hope

For the first time, UCLA researchers have identified a specific peptide that increases substantially when study subjects were happy, and decreases noticeably when the same subjects are sad. The neurochemicals, called hypocretin, may serve to increase both mood and alertness and humans, and so the new findings could have implications for the treatment of psychological disorders like depression, as well as sleep problems like chronic tiredness. By targeting particular abnormalities in brain chemistry doctors may be able to alleviate multiple symptoms.

The study, published in the online edition of Nature Communications, also found that melanin concentrating hormone (MCH), another measurable peptide, was only minimally present during waking but drastically increased during sleep, implicating the neurochemical with a strong role in human drowsiness.

Narcolepsy, Depression, and Sleep

MCH and hypocretin together may explain the well-documented interaction between narcolepsy and depression.Senior author Jerome Siegel, director of the Center for Sleep Research at the Semel Institute at UCLA, told Science Daily the findings “suggest that hypoctreting deficiency ay underlie depression from other causes,” too.

The study’s sample size is small but the study was certainly thorough – eight patients with a microchip implant were monitored day and night and answered questions about mood and attitude every hour during periods of wakefulness. The results? Hypocretin levels were highest at waking, periods of positive emotion, anger, and social interaction. MCH, on the other hand, was highest at the time of falling asleep and lowest during social interaction. The results suggest there may be more of an emotional effect on arousal or sleepiness than doctors previously thought.

Hypocretin antagonists are currently under development as sleeping pills. According to this study, drugs that affect hypocretin should alter mood as well as sleepiness. Boosting hypocretin may elevate mood, making it a potentially effective antidepressant.

What do you think? Are emotions and sleepiness linked?

Author Bio: +Michelle Gordon is a sleep expert who researches and writes about sleep and health, and is an online publisher for the latex mattress specialist Latexmattress.org.