Text and Photos by Evangeline T. Capuno
Filipinos can stay slim and physically fit by sleeping well and not skipping the first meal of the day.
In the past, most people were healthy and free from diseases because they eat breakfast and go to bed early. But due to changing lifestyle habits, increasing dependence on the virtual world (computer games and facebook), television viewing and long working hours (particularly those serving call centers).
“To sleep – perchance to dream,” wrote William Shakespeare in his masterpiece play, Hamlet. It’s a nice concept. However, for many men, women and children, the elusive road to slumberland is anything but a dream.
Several studies now prove that sleeping hours have decreased across the globe. A few years back, an AC Nielsen study showed that as many as 40 percent of people in Asia-Pacific countries go to bed only after midnight compared to 34 percent Americans and 32 percent Europeans.
“We’re so busy that we just don’t have sufficient time to get the sleep we need,” says Dr. Patrick Gerard Moral, head of the sleep and snore diagnostic and treatment unit of the University of Santo Tomas.
Dr. Moral, who has done extensive study into sleep disorders, believes lifestyle is the main factor contributing to lack of sleep. About 40 percent of his patients suffer from sleep disturbances because they indulge in activities that extend way beyond their bedtime.
“It’s not just work that makes them cut down on sleep but also their lifestyle,” he points out. “Simply socializing or surfing the Internet can engage people far beyond their bedtimes.”
A good night’s sleep means waking up rested and energized. On average, a healthy adult needs between six and eight hours of sleep a night. However, the amount of sleep it takes to achieve rejuvenation varies from person to person.
“It’s not a fixed number,” says Dr. Moral, adding that length is not the only important factor in sleeping but the quality as well.
In addition, people who lose sleep every night will suffer from what he calls sleep debt. “The sleep debt is compounded over a prolonged period and recovery will take much longer than the actual hours lost,” Dr. Moral says.
Studies have shown that sleep is important in keeping your waistline slim. Dr. Yue-Joe Lee, a physician and professor in the Department of Psychiatry at National Taiwan University Hospital, claims that insufficient sleep may affect three hormones that can contribute to obesity.
First, there’s leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone found in our fat and its levels are regulated during sleep, Dr. Lee says. Then, there’s ghrelin, which triggers appetite and increases with sleep deprivation. Our bodies then produce more of the stress hormone cortisol, which increases fat storage.
Not only do the increased hormones resulting from sleep loss cause us to eat more but most of us also make poor food choices when we’re tired. “Get sufficient sleep if you don’t want to gain weight,” Dr. Lee suggests.
Dr. Michael Grandner, who studies sleep and sleep disorders at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, echoes the same idea. “If you’re making your diet a priority and trying to be healthy, don’t forget that getting healthy sleep is probably an extremely important part of being healthy,” he points out.
After a good night’s sleep, the next thing you should do is to eat your hearty breakfast. Remember an age-old saying: “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and supper like a pauper.”
Some people think that skipping breakfast can make them lose weight. Do exactly the opposite, according to the internist/cardiologist and book author. “Many studies, in both adults and children, have shown that breakfast eaters tend to weigh less than breakfast skippers,” says Dr. Willie T. Ong, the man behind of Stay Younger, Live Healthier.
The American Dietetic Association considers breakfast as the most important meal of the day. “Yet is the meal that is most often neglected or skipped,” lamented the largest organization of food and nutrition professionals in the United States.
Breakfast literally means “to break the fasting period of the prior night; in Old English the term was morgenmete, which means “morning meal.” Actually, breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night’s sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day’s work.
As the most important meal of the day, breakfast is also very important for weight loss and weight management. As Dr. Ong puts it: “You ‘break the fast’ of not eating for the past eight to 12 hours. It helps curb your hunger and prevent binge eating later in the day. Breakfast is important to manage your weight and potentially lose weight by eating fewer calories throughout the day.”
Dr. Ong, who was given the Outstanding Filipino Physician Award by the Department of Health in 2007, cited a study conducted by the National Weight Control Registry in the United States. The study found that 80 percent of dieters who lost 30 pounds or more ate breakfast regularly.
“It’s worth noting that most studies linking breakfast to weight control loss looked at a healthy breakfast containing protein and/or whole grains – not meals loaded with fat and calories,” Dr. Ong points out.
Eating breakfast means more energy. “Just like a car low on fuel, skipping meals causes the body to become sluggish,” explains Dr. Ong. “On the other hand, eating breakfast increases one’s metabolism because the body is burning up the food. Our brain needs fuel, in the form of glucose from food, for it to function properly.”
Aside from making you lose weight and providing more energy, eating breakfast has several other health benefits, Dr. Ong claims. “Some studies abroad discovered that eating breakfast can lower the “bad” LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol while raising the “good” HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol,” says Dr. Ong.
One study, conducted at the University of Nottingham in England, found out that skipping breakfast can lead to an increase in bad cholesterol due to bad food choices and habits.
“A healthy breakfast rich in soluble fiber (those found in vegetables and fruits) has been shown to lower cholesterol levels,” Dr. Ong says. “And lowering cholesterol levels may prevent a heart attack.”
