ZZZZ GAINZZZ

This is why I try to get in a solid ten, eleven hours of sleep every day.

People who choose to skip sleep to study, work or play late into the night may find they've extended not just their waking hours but also their tummies.

A small new study found that the basic problem sources back to the fact that people who don't get enough sleep tend to eat more. Even worse, all those extra calories wind up precisely where most people don't want it: around the belly.

"Our work focused on people who chose to sleep less," explained study author Dr. Virend Somers, a professor of cardiovascular medicine with the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minn. "It wasn't about insomnia, so much as, say, a student in college who decides they find it necessary to sleep less for a while in order to get their work done.

"But what we found is that when a relatively young, healthy and lean person is sleep-deprived and has unrestricted access to food, he or she eats 300 more calories per day," said Somers.

That extra food did not appear to lead to enormous weight gains, the researchers acknowledged. Yet, it did appear to translate into a "stunning" 11% increase in so-called "visceral fat," Somers said.

"That's the fat that wraps around the belly and the internal organs," he noted. "The fat which you really can't see. But it's actually the most dangerous fat."

That, said Somers, is because deeply deposited visceral fat "produces all kind of toxic things that cause heart and blood vessel disease," including high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol -- all of which can notably elevate the risk for developing diabetes.

...

"Abnormal sleep patterns -- especially when due to stress -- are likely to worsen body fat function, increase visceral or belly fat, and worsen body composition, even without much change in body weight," Bays said.

But the solution, he suggested, is simple: Get enough sleep.

I'm tryin', I'm tryin'.

Also, supposedly, weight training helps you get your ZZZZZ.

Resistance exercise appears to be better than aerobic workouts as a way to improve your 40 winks if you're having problems sleeping, researchers reported Thursday at an American Heart Association meeting in Chicago.

For study participants who had been unable to regularly get at least seven hours of sleep, weight training added an average 40 minutes of shuteye, said lead researcher Angelique Brellenthin, an assistant professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University.

Children with insomnia at higher risk for sleep problems as adults, study finds
By comparison, aerobic exercise increased sleep time by 23 minutes for another group with similar sleep problems, Brellenthin said.

I've mentioned this before, but the yoga nidra method for falling asleep, or for going back to sleep if you've woken up and can't fall back asleep, has really helped me. Try it if you have those problems.

A lot of times I don't even have to go through much of the program. I can just start at my usual starting point (my left temple, you can start anywhere) and by the time I'm at my eyes I'm drifting asleep.

Sometimes it doesn't work, but most of the time it does.

Anyone got any GAINZZZ? I've got no GAINZZZ at all and in fact have been having awful sleep so I have negative GAINZZZ. I'd love to have some GAINZZZ by Proxy.

Also, tell me about any ECONOMIC GAINZZZ you might have or may be planning. I always forget to mention that. I know someone has some JOB GAINZZZ!

And of course the usual questions about BOOK GAINZZZ, MOVIE GAINZZZ, and MUSIC GAINZZZ.

Oh I have some music GAINZZZ.

I have randomly discovered that there's all this very cool Mexican post-punk type music. Not like the horn-type salsa stuff. But stuff you'd think was just American punk (or some punk derivative) if the language we're Spanish.

I've linked this girl-fronted group, Margaritas Podridas (Rotten Daisies), in the sidebar before.

This album is pretty aggressive.

I enjoy the visuals they provide.

This Mexican band from Argentita band, Perras on the Beach (Whores on the Beach), has a surf rock feel.

I mean, you know, stereotypes and all, I just thought all Spanish music was synthesized horns and guys yelling Mira a mis ojos ya! and stuff. Or Quiero la noche.

I didn't know they did actual rock.

I know sometimes people link YouTube players. This Mexican girl from Argentina is really good.

She sometimes plays with another girl. Who is muy piquante.

Do you have any MUSIC GAINZZZ to share?

posted by Ace at 05:25 PM

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