Daylight Savings Time May Contribute
to Weight Gain
Getting
in an extra hour of sleep amid the sweeping-in
of autumn is sweet music to the Sandman
but doing such may have our weight scales
on the upswing. To demonstrate our point,
meet Todd who has just awoken from his extended
slumber, a gift from Mr. Daylight Savings
Time....
Although
the clock reads 7 am, only yesterday morning
at this time it was 8 am. Nonetheless, time
for breakfast before Todd heads off to work
who hates retail for obvious reasons.
As
Todd tries to pull the cobwebs from his
eyes, he can't seem to snap to life. Although
he 'stole' an extra hour of sleep, he just
can't get with the program.
By
10:30 am he is ravenous because in actuality,
it's really 11:30 am - his regularly scheduled
lunch time. And when lunch time finally
arrives, because he is so hungry he eats
far more than he should have.
As
Todd heads home for the day, his spirits
fade with the lighting. Barely 5:30 pm and
the sun isn't far from setting which practically
shreds his usual daily walk through the
park. And as the sun sets in this autumn
hour, the winds grow colder.
The
following morning Todd feels like he has
been hit with a load of bricks. No matter
how hard that he tried to go to sleep last
night, it just wouldn't come.
To
worsen matters, something appears to be
on the fritz with his appetite for he can't
seem to become satisfied at meal time. Because
his internal clock is in conflict with his
external clock, his tummy is confused and
feels a bit abandoned. And when Todd finally
pauses to refuel with energy, he's filling
his tank a mite too full because he is so
hungry.
Okay
- enough about Todd. Our point is that Daylight
Savings Time can really put a kink in our
daily diet - as well shred our sleeping
pattern. No wonder so many people seek sleeping
medications these days - perhaps a good
deal due to Daylight Savings Time.
And
although the time switch is difficult in
the autumn, the spring 'leap forward' in
time is something that most everyone dreads.
So if you're finding that you're not feeling
'with it' this week, and if your appetite
is all out of whack - as well as your sleeping
pattern, the following tips might be of
help:
- Begin to wind down earlier
in the evening to prepare your body
for rest.
- Keep a stash of low calorie
snacks around for when a snack attack
hits. Good choices are the old stand-by's
such as raw carrots, celery, wheat crackers
and those new 100-calorie snacks.
- With daylight fizzling
out and the colder weather in store,
it's a good time to begin thinking of
indoor activities you can incorporate
into your daily routine.
- Keep
in mind that whenever we're irritable,
we tend to seek comforting avenues to
tame the inner savage beast, which too-commonly
translates to comfort foods. They are
cheap, require little effort & quickly
do the job - if only temporary. The
downside is that doing is a quick fix
which often generates more irritability
via weight gain.
- Stay
tuned to Diet Bites for more original
topics related to weight and your good
health.
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