Latest news with #Dimitriu
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Is weight gain stealing your sleep? Science reveals you may be trapped in a vicious cycle
Sleep isn't just rest—it's your body's metabolic reset. Poor sleep elevates ghrelin, lowers leptin, and rewires your brain to crave high-calorie foods. It also reduces insulin sensitivity and raises cortisol, contributing to fat storage and metabolic disorders. The solution lies not in willpower, but in prioritizing sleep to restore balance and health. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Science of Why You Crave Junk After Poor Sleep Sleep deprivation does more than make you tired—it rewires your brain and body to crave junk food. (Image: iStock) Why You Can't Resist That Bag of Chips Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads after a night of tossing and turning, you're more likely to not just crave junk food, but act on it. (Image: iStock) The Real Price of 'Powering Through' Sleep Isn't a Luxury, It's Your Body's Silent Healer You've stayed up too late again—maybe it was just one more episode, answering late-night emails, or scrolling endlessly through your phone. The next morning, groggy and irritable, you're suddenly drawn to a buttery croissant or greasy breakfast sandwich instead of your usual healthy breakfast. By the afternoon, the vending machine seems irresistible. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone—and it's not a failure of an eye-opening article published in The Conversation, neurologist and sleep science expert Dr. Alex Dimitriu explains how even a single night of poor sleep can cause your body to crave unhealthy, high-calorie foods, slow your metabolism, and ramp up stress. The reason is simple: your tired brain is chemically nudging you toward fast, sugary fixes to compensate for its lack of is not just rest; it's a metabolic reset button. When you're short on it, your brain goes into survival mode. According to Dr. Dimitriu, this triggers a hormonal shift—ghrelin (the 'hunger hormone') increases, while leptin (the 'fullness hormone') drops. The result? You feel hungrier and less satisfied even after body also becomes less efficient at processing glucose, meaning more sugar stays in your bloodstream, which eventually gets stored as fat. Worse, insulin sensitivity can decrease by up to 25% after just one bad night, putting your body on the fast track to belly fat, high blood sugar, and increased risk of Type 2 of the most startling findings shared in The Conversation is how sleep deprivation reshapes the brain's decision-making landscape. Areas like the prefrontal cortex—which help with self-control and good judgment—go quiet. Meanwhile, regions like the amygdala and nucleus accumbens, which are tied to reward-seeking behavior, become why after a night of tossing and turning, you're more likely to not just crave junk food , but act on it. Imaging studies show participants in sleep studies found high-calorie foods more appealing and were significantly more likely to choose them, even if they weren't particularly those in high-stress or shift-based jobs—nurses, firefighters, emergency responders—the impact of sleep loss is even more pronounced. With rotating schedules disrupting their internal clocks, they are at a higher risk for disordered eating, obesity, and chronic metabolic it doesn't take long for the effects to show. According to Dr. Dimitriu, even just a few nights of inadequate sleep can initiate these harmful patterns. Elevated cortisol, the body's primary stress hormone, only makes matters worse by encouraging fat storage around the abdomen and throwing hunger regulation further off a world that equates hustle with success and sleep with laziness, Dr. Dimitriu urges a paradigm shift. 'Sleep is not downtime. It is active, essential repair,' he writes. It's the time when your hormones recalibrate, your glucose metabolism stabilizes, and your cravings the good news? Your body is remarkably resilient. Even just one or two nights of good-quality sleep can begin to reverse the physiological damage caused by previous sleep deficits. The next time you reach for a donut instead of breakfast oats, don't blame yourself—blame your biology. Then give it what it truly needs: the end, your most powerful wellness tool isn't another supplement or fad diet. It's sleep—the simplest, most effective reset your body craves.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Most Americans hit the snooze button every morning — here's why it could be bad for your health
More than half of sleep sessions end with the snooze button, with people sneaking in an extra 11 minutes on average, a new study reveals — but experts say it may not be a good idea. Researchers from Mass General Brigham analyzed data from the Sleep Cycle app, which included sleep habits from more than 21,000 people globally. Among the more than three million sleep sessions tracked, nearly 56% ended with the snooze button. Most Sleep-deprived Cities In Us Revealed In Report: Where Does Yours Rank? The heaviest users of the snooze button — who used it for more than 80% of the mornings included in the study — slept an average of 20 extra minutes. These heaviest snoozers were also shown to have "more erratic sleep schedules" than those who used the snooze button less often, the researchers found. Read On The Fox News App The snooze button was more likely to be used on weekdays and less so on Saturdays and Sundays. The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports. "Unfortunately, the snooze alarm disrupts some of the most important stages of sleep," said lead author Rebecca Robbins, PhD, in the Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in a press release. "The hours just before waking are rich in rapid eye movement sleep. Hitting the snooze alarm will interrupt these critical stages of sleep and typically only offer light sleep in between snooze alarms." It's common for people to feel grogginess upon waking up, called "sleep inertia," which can make the snooze button tempting, according to Dr. David Kuhlmann, spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and medical director of sleep medicine at Bothwell Regional Health Center in Sedalia, Missouri. "While hitting snooze may make it easier for some to wake up, it's not recommended," Kuhlmann, who wasn't involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. "Falling back to sleep for just a few extra minutes disrupts your sleep cycle, which can impact your mood and energy throughout the day." Here's Why 90% Of Americans Don't Sleep Through The Night, According To Expert Alex Dimitriu, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine doctor and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California, agreed that hitting the snooze button is disruptive to one's rest. "Snoozing feels good, but effectively results in less sleep," Dimitriu, who also did not participate in the research, told Fox News Digital. "Snoozing specifically impacts REM sleep or dream sleep, which happens most in the morning hours." REM (rapid eye movement) sleep has wide-ranging benefits, according to the expert — including that it helps regulate emotions by repeating past events and preparing for the future. "There is evidence that our brains get emotionally calibrated during REM sleep — so it matters a lot," Dimitriu added. "When the alarm goes off, we should feel ready to start our day," Dr. Stephen Carstensen, a dentist and sleep expert in Washington, told Fox News Digital. It's as simple as breaking the habit, noted Cartensen, who wasn't part of the MGB study. Heat Exposure Linked To Better Sleep, Experts Say — Here's Why "Habits are changed by determination, which is always easy to say, hard to do," he said. "Just don't do it, and soon the habit is gone." If someone feels like they need those extra minutes, however, the expert suggests thinking about what might need to change. "Maybe you aren't going to bed early enough, or sleep quality suffers from snoring or other breathing problems," he said. "You might have another sleep problem or a bed partner who keeps you from getting good sleep." "The issue isn't really the snooze button, but why you need it." To optimize sleep and feel rested the next day, experts recommend setting the alarm for the latest possible time and getting out of bed when it goes off the first time. "Most people use the snooze button either because they go to bed too late or because an early-morning wake time does not line up with their natural sleep cycle," Dimitriu said. In both cases, he recommends adhering to a consistent sleep schedule that you can stick to, with "regular(ish)" bedtimes and wake times. "It also helps to put down shiny, colorful screens full of interesting information in the hour before bed," Dimitriu added. "You need to slow down to get sleepy, or you won't get sleepy." Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter "I tell my patients 'tech off at 10' — dimming the lights and reading a book helps a lot." Kuhlmann recommends that people keep their phones across the room at night to force them to get out of bed when the alarm goes off. "If you're hitting snooze regularly, it could be a sign that you aren't getting enough or good-quality sleep," he noted. "To improve your sleep, prioritize healthy sleep habits, like keeping a consistent bedtime, avoiding large meals and alcohol before bed, and aiming for at least seven or more hours of sleep per night." For more Health articles, visit If someone is still overly reliant on the snooze button even after improving sleep habits, it may be a sign of unrefreshing sleep from an underlying disorder, Kuhlmann warned. "In that case, speak with your healthcare provider, who may refer you to an AASM-accredited sleep center for treatment."Original article source: Most Americans hit the snooze button every morning — here's why it could be bad for your health
