Can Sleep Help You Lose Weight

Are you a busy mom who is just eating all wrong or trying to lose post pregnancy weight? The good news is that the experts now say that you can lose it by sleeping!

Have you ever noticed that you eat more when you’re tired? That is just one reason why you should get more sleep.

In addition to a healthy and balanced diet and regular exercise, a restorative night’s sleep can help flatten that tummy. According to recent studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Lancet, lack of sleep can slow down your metabolic function and make you huge!

This is because there are hormones that make you hungrier if you are not well rested. Two hormones in particular – gherkin, which is responsible for making you feel hungry, and leptin, which makes you feel full – are affected by your sleep patterns.

When you’re sleep deprived, ghrelin levels increase and leptin levels drop, making you feel hungry and escalating our need to indulge cravings. When faced with cravings, our tendency is to grab highly processed sweet and starchy snacks that make us really fat. You are more likely to keep eating even when you’ve had enough because when you are tired.

The hormone cortisol also appears to be linked to body weight. Stress or sleep deprivation can cause cortisol levels to rise, and your appetite and cravings will rise right along with it. Excessive cortisol has been linked to a surplus storage of fat, specifically around the mid-section – this is a bad place for extra pounds as it can put women at higher risk for heart disease, stroke and cancer.

In order to keep your hormonal cycle in check, aim for seven to nine hours each night. You are sleep deprived if you have difficulty falling asleep, wake up a lot during the night, wake up too early in the morning and if you wake up and you don't feel rested. These are all experiences that mean it is time to alter your routine. Try adjusting your bed, clearing out distractions like television and blackening out your room so you can get a better rest.

If you have answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, it may be time to address your sleep routine to help you lose those extra pounds. Just remember, the better the quality of sleep is, the more pounds and fat you will just lose naturally! I'd rather nap than exercise!

Parenting Tips
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Friendliest Dog Breeds for Children

Welcoming a pet into your home can be an exciting Endeavour and, much like the arrival of a new child can bring you a lot of joy. However you should make sure that the breed of dog that you choose for your family is going to be appropriate.

First of all you need to decide whether or not you are looking for a guard dog, a hunter or a dog for the kids to play with. You also need to decide how high maintenance of a dog you are going to put up with.

Yet another thing to consider is that some dogs need nearly constant grooming while others require next to done. Each breed also has a unique set of behavioral and personality traits that also should come into consideration before you buy a dog.

You should also keep in mind that the larger the dog is the more it will cost to feed it!

The top friendliest two dog breeds are rather large. These are the Golden retriever and the Labrador retriever. They are great for any family because they are very tolerant, loving and loyal by nature. They love to swim and are playful like a puppy all of the time. Just make sure you walk them a lot or they get restless. They adapt well to both the city and the country.

You might also check into getting a Collie which is smaller than a Labrador. Good-natured and energetic, the collie has been a popular pet since the first time Lassie appeared on TV. They are beautiful, great with children and easy to train.

However you do need to brush this type of dog's coat quite a bit. Your collie’s working nature may require you to be creative. Keep him stimulated by asking him to fetch, herd or climb over or under something. Your collie will adapt well to city life but needs space to run around in frequently.

Yet another good choice is a boxer. They love to clown around and are very loyal. They are good city dogs because they are great guardians. They have short fur that requires very little care.

The Yorkshire Terrier is between three and seven pounds. They are great for a family because they are very loyal although they are known to be quite yappy. They are smaller lap dogs and cannot be treated that roughly by children. They are perfect for city life because they get all the exercise they need running around indoors. The challenge is to get one that is not going to bark too much!

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