Fasting is not a new practice; it has been going on since time immemorial. Earlier it had a more cultural and religious background, today it is being used as a healthy practice. Fasting is a part of weight loss and anti-ageing regimens that people follow nowadays. Regardless of why it is done, fasting affects us both physically as well as mentally. In today’s post, we try to find out how fasting on sleep affects the body.
What is Intermittent Fasting & Fasting on Sleep?
Intermittent fasting is a fasting model that involves cycles of abstaining from food and eating. It is a popular trend that focuses not on what people eat, but instead on when they eat and when they fast. While some will fast for 8, 10, 12, or 16 hours, and leave the remaining hours for eating, others fast for 24 hours, two to three days a week. The popular fasting pattern is to restrict your calorie intake every three days and eat normally in between. Many people also opt for fasting on sleep and have dinner before 6 PM and not have anything after that and have food after 12 hours. There is another style of fasting that is known as 5:2 fasting which is not similar to fasting on sleep, in this type of fasting five days you eat normally, and the other two days you restrict your diet in terms of calories.
Effects – Intermittent Fasting and Fasting on Sleep
Research shows that intermittent fasting can benefit your health and protect you from diseases by enhancing your immune system and good hormone production. The immediate effects of fasting on sleep include weight loss, improvement in insensitivity to insulin and lower levels of unhealthy cholesterol. It also has been observed as a good practice to lower inflammation in the body.
Fasting on Sleep- Tips to Sleep Well
How to sleep well and fast? Every individual has different sleep needs and the amount of sleep required also varies. Sleep routine should be maintained to get optimal sleep, likewise, the eating patterns should also be tuned as per your body’s needs. Listen to your body and make adjustments to your eating and sleeping routine instead of following a schedule set for someone else’s sleeping during fasting and diet. By doing so your melatonin production is increased and you sleep better.
While fasting on sleep, drinking plenty of water throughout the day is another way to ensure quality sleeping during fasting. That will help to control cravings and also boost your energy. Avoiding dehydration is the best answer for how to sleep well and fast.
Making all your meals count is another answer to how to sleep well and fast. When you do that the body’s adaptation to the eating pattern and even the cravings are not a problem anymore. But for this to happen, follow a healthy diet, avoid processed foods, sugar and fried food. This ensures your intermittent fasting and sleep is successful.
Be mindful of your intermittent fasting and sleep, by doing that your mind is at ease and you make good food choices and sleep better. Deep breathing and meditation can help in mindfulness.
Sleeping during fasting is not easy for beginners. The body goes into flight or fight mode with higher cortisol (harmful hormone) levels. Make extra time to relax your mind and body to get a good night’s rest. Follow all these to know how to sleep well and fast.
When trying out intermittent fasting and sleep trails, it is important to see how your body is responding to the new practice. Everyone’s level of tolerance for sleeping during fasting is different, and listening closely to how your body is adjusting is a great way to understand if the new practice is for you or not. You do not want to inculcate a habit that causes sleep deprivation, because then, insufficient sleep will disrupt the body’s functions making you fall sick in the end.
There is a deep connection between hormones, intermittent fasting and sleep. When you fast and how long you fast are two factors that play a huge role in determining your sleep quality. According to a few studies, short-term intermittent fasting and sleep quality is seen to have improved. Intermittent fasting and sleep work well for the short term as it is said to reduce the occurrence of sleep interruptions and lowered leg movements that disrupt sleep. However, in the long term, intermittent fasting and sleep are not effective as it negatively affects your REM sleep and causes a disturbed sleep pattern. Also, if you are extremely hungry, then falling asleep can be a struggle and is absolutely not recommended.
While long-term intermittent fasting and sleep do not work out. A better way to sleep healthy instead of fasting sleep? Invest in a memory foam mattress. The mattress will conform to your body’s shape and distribute your bodyweight uniformly to give you ultimate comfort and support. It will keep dust and molds away, thus saving you from allergies. And it will help you sleep cool by circulating air and heat throughout. If you are wondering where you can find such a mattress, then your search ends here.
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