It’s Monday!! Over the weekend, I had dinner at Montana Mike’s. I ordered from the “Can’t Decide” menu and had a steak and chicken plate with double broccoli as my two sides. Five minutes into the meal, I realized I had forgotten to take a picture of it (hence, the picture of my partially eaten meal below). I definitely recommend the steak and broccoli. Very tasty.

Montana Mike's meal

This morning, I ate eggs with nitrite-free ham and sausage and a coconut patty for breakfast. So delicious! Now I have a batch of “granola” bars baking in the oven and a cup of organic black coffee in my hand. I am feeling great!! These are all pretty much every day occurrences for me, so then why am I feeling extra great this morning? Well…I got more than 8 hours of sleep last night. That amount of sleep doesn’t usually happen for me, but it needs to happen more often.

At G7′s Primal Challenge Nutrition Seminar, Coach Mike mentioned the importance of sleep but didn’t have time to go into much detail. I have time now. In The Primal Blueprint, Mark Sisson states that most experts recommend that people get 7-8 hours of high quality sleep with regular patterns of sleep and wake times. High quality sleep is defined as continuous sleep that is not influenced by any medicine, alcohol, or unhealthy foods.

So why is this important to us? In an article by Donald E. Watenpaugh, he writes that inadequate sleep negatively affects the metabolism of glucose and insulin sensitivity. Additionally, during high quality sleep, hormones like the human growth hormone are released which regulate the metabolism of energy (AKA burn fat). Therefore, an increase in high quality sleep = an increase in fat burning. That sounds like a win-win situation to me!!

So what else happens with chronic sleep deprivation? According to Mark Sisson, chronic sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain because of its adverse effects on how the body processes/stores carbohydrates and because of the modification of hormones (which affect an individual’s appetite and metabolism). In his book, Mark also talks about how poor quality sleep can negatively affect an individual’s mood, concentration, and memory retention as well as lead to hypertension, compromised immune function, and an increased risk of obesity and heart disease.

Click here to read about Zen to Fitness’ Chris and his experience of when he started to get high quality sleep at night. He mentions improved body composition, higher energy levels, and improved digestion. For those who are having trouble sleeping, Mark has some great tips to help you wind down and start getting better sleep right away.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post. I am finally making mayonnaise! Until then, let’s get even healthier and start sleeping more…tonight! Good night.

Anigabi on the rings