Lifestyle

We Hope These Self-Care Tips Can Help You To Reduce Stress and Increase Sleep to Help Defeat the Quarantine Fifteen

Meditation is a great way to reduce stress. Stress has a negative effect on weight loss due to the release of the hormone cortisol in excess when we are stressed. Too much cortisol can affect blood sugar levels and sleep negatively. As excess cortisol increase blood sugar, insulin is increased which results in your body storing more fat.

Studies have also shown an increase in junk food consumption due to stress and emotional eating. Therefore, it is important to take a few minutes out of every day to reduce stress so that you can defeat the quarantine fifteen!

Here are some meditation and stress reducing methods and tips you can follow:

Sleep is just as important as stress and they actually cross-over when we speak about weight loss! A lack of sleep can increase cortisol levels but also excess cortisol can affect sleep quantity and quality. A lack of sleep also increases ghrelin and decrease leptin.

What are ghrelin and leptin?

Ghrelin is basically the hormone that makes you hungry,

while leptin is the hormone that makes you feel full.

Therefore, if ghrelin increases due to a lack of sleep you will

eat more unnecessary calories which won't help. So ensure you

sleep and reduce stress!

Check out this link to read more

about sleep and weight gain,

and how they are linked:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/14/health/sleep-weight-gain-study-wellness/index.html

After such busy days, do you sometimes have trouble sleeping? Here are some tips to ensure that you can sleep quickly and properly when you put your head on your pillow after a tough day!

1. Set a consistent bed time for every night. Your body has a clock and will follow it. This will make it easier to sleep and wake up without confusing your body's clock and feeling exhausted!

2. Turn off all electronics/bright screens at least one hour before bed time as these will activate pathways in your brain that will keep your brain working and your body busy.

3. Stay away from alcohol and caffeine in the evening.

4. Work out in the day! Just not too close to bed time. This will also help burn those calories to defeat the quarantine 15.

5. Don't use your bed to do anything except sleep. Your body will then know when you are in your bed it's time to sleep!

6. Read, stretch, meditate or do a calming exercise before you jump into the bed.