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The Link Between Sleep and Cravings: Why You Can’t Out-Willpower Poor Rest · FitMitTuro Fitness Podcast

• 1:08
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Hey and welcome to fit me, Turo fitness podcast. I'm your host. Turo, emotional eating and strength coach. I'm here to help you build a strong body and a healthy relationship with food without all or nothing, rules or guilt. Today, we are diving into a topic that often gets overlooked when it comes to fat loss, emotional eating and cravings, and that's sleep. So if you have ever told yourself, why do I crave sugar late at night, or why does my willpower disappear when I'm tired, this episode is for you. So this is something what I what I sleep is something that I earlier. I wasn't too much aware. I was kind of thinking that it, it, it's or it's important. But I didn't understand how important it actually is until I started to prioritize it and and there are so many ways that I felt the difference, but in this episode, I'm going to tell you, like, what is actually science behind and why it's actually, why it matters more than you think. And But before getting into that, I want to share a little bit of my own story. Like it might sound that I'm I'm getting older. It was for me something that, you know, I when I started to prioritize my sleep, I was like, am I already really that old that I need to go? I need to prioritize my sleep and and I was when I was younger. Of course, it was like that, sleep is not so important. It's it's okay to stay long awake. Passed over midnight, every day, sleep longer or get up. You know, you can survive with a little bit less less sleep. And which is kind of true, you can survive, and especially when you are younger, you don't understand it like you don't feel it that same way. Then when you are older, like when you get older, or when you are old, I don't know, depending, like, I don't think that there is, it's only in your mind and and it is just the number. And, of course, like some certain things you have to, I call it like that. You get wiser, you start to pay more attention of small things. But actually improves, because earlier, like I said, you get rid of basically everything, if you like, you know, it doesn't make that big difference. And now, when getting older, it, it makes such a big difference. And if you, if you do these same things, if I would do the same things, what I do now, when I was a younger i I can't imagine what kind of results like, for example, my own training, everything, how, how it would have impacted if I would live that kind of life. Of course, there is a other side of the story. Like, you know, you can prioritize everything all the time, and I believe that it at some point, like, I don't regret anything I have done in my life, and it's, it's at some point, you know you have to also enjoy life, and it might mean that it's not, it's not at that time, prioritizing your sleep is not going to be number one priority.
• 4:22
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It's having a fun, collecting memories. But it's kind of the police. The hardest part is to combine these both and and do like, basically trying to do kind of everything, but without getting like obsessed, like at the at the moment, I feel like that I'm more kind of like an obsessed person for my especially for my sleep, because I know how it's impacting and and how I feel when I don't have it. And then, you know, it's just for me at this point, it's just not worth of it to go out until 4am or 3am and I was, I know that it, it takes so long time like it was now, I think within the past year I was, we had a like, that's like, a month ago, went out with my friends somewhere, and, and I already, I knew before, before going out, that that, oh, this is going to it's only one day, like, it's one Saturday. But once you do it like, I probably need, like, a three, four days to recover. And more or less, it took those like, maybe Wednesday after Saturday, going out Tuesday, Wednesday, I started to feel okay. And earlier, it was like, if it was just the one day, Saturday evening, it was like, maybe Sunday, around 11 latest, at 12 midday, you were feeling kind of okay. And if it was, like, really bad, and it took maybe until afternoon or evening, but Monday, you didn't have any any issues, or you didn't recognize anything. And of course, then if you meant for our for Friday, Saturday or even Sunday, then of course, it took a bit longer, but never this kind of like, it's one day, and you feel it like for the next three days. So it just, it says, the example, sometimes it's okay, but, but sometimes it's it's now. For me, it's just at this moment, at this point, it's just more for me to feel energized, because I want to be there for my clients, for my people, for my wife and to show the best possible energy, and that that means that I need to prioritize my sleep, and I feel just so much better. So it's not for those kind of short sort things, short term wins or feeling good for a couple hours.
• 6:53
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It's not worth of it, if it, if you know that it, it causes then to feel worse for the next couple days. So let me start that. Why? Actually that sleep matters more than willpower, and let me be honest. So you can you can meal break, you can track your food, you can exercise consistently, but if your sleep is off, your cravings will be and it's not about you being weak or lazy, so it's simply biology. And there are when we don't sleep enough, there are those two key hormones that get thrown out of balance, and they are called and leptin. Maybe you have heard about them, but that says that I'm not going to talk too much about but just to know what is actually happening. So why this is that there is a biological reason. So khrelin is your hunger hormone, so it goes up with sleep deprivation. So when you are lacking of sleep, you are going to feel that lifting is going up, and it means that you are going to feel more hunger. And lifting is your fullness hormone. So it goes down when you are tired. So it's it's when you don't have enough sleep, you build like in a boat hormones, they are moving into a wrong direction. So now your body is not only hungrier, it, it also doesn't feel as full as easily so. And there is your receipt for cravings and especially emotional eating. And to make things even worse, your brain. Brains fast energy like carbs, sugar and processed foods, because it's trying to stay awake. And so it's not lack of willpower. It's your brain running low on fuel and trying to survive today. So that is, that is just what is actually happening. So it's not, it's not like, if you think like a cravings, like most people, what I thought like that there is just that they think that it's a repower issue. I just don't have it. But if you often those people, when I asked, How is their sleep, I said, Ah, could be better. Or I have issues. You know, there might be some things like going on, like, especially for women over 35 you might have menopause, menopause symptoms you are not like hot flashes or something. You're not able to sleep. You have a stressful situation in your family, in your work, and those are causing like your sleep. Quality or quantity is not even you try to prioritize it. It's not to say.
• 9:44
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And then, you know, you wonder that there is I have, I miss, I don't have willpower, and because I have those cravings and I can't resist them. So there is something wrong with me, but it's actually the biology, and it's your brain, brain running low on fuel and trying to survive today. So this is just the biology, what is actually happening in your body when you are not sleeping. So then, how is that like? I mentioned that there is some connection between sleep and emotional eating. So if I think, like many, many women, I quote, they are telling me like that, I'm doing fine during the day, but when evening hits, I start snacking even, even if I'm not hungry. And if this sounds familiar, that's because sleep deprivation doesn't just impact physical hunger. It affects your emotions too. So your stress tolerance goes down, your emotional regulation begins, and so when something small happens, like your kids are arguing, you get some frustrating email or word or comments from your boss, or you are just feeling overwhelmed or even bored, so you are way more likely to turn to food for comfort. So sleep is like your emotional buffer.
• 11:09
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Without it, you are more reactive, more anxious, and food becomes your coping mechanism.
• 11:17
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And then now you might be thinking that, how much sleep do I actually need? So there are several studies that are showing that most adults need seven to nine hours of sleep. Of course, I have some, some people say that I'm totally fine with six hours. But if you look studies, there is actually it's very, very small percentage, like, I think it's around 1000 of people like or even less, who can actually feel rested and survive with less than seven hours sleep. So it is, it is just a, just a proven fact that it's it's even you might feel okay.
• 12:04
  Turo Virta (Zoom): But what kind of difference it could make if you get that at least at seven hours, and some people need nine hours. And of course, it depends, like, what I recognize for myself, like I go to sleep, I barely, never use alarm or need it. I wake up when I wake up. But the reason how I actually do it is I, I have a very, very strict, I'm very strict with myself that I try to go to bed at the same time between, like around 10 ladies, 1030 or I might hold petty earlier, I read a little bit to calm myself down and get my thoughts away. And then when I start to feel tired. I put my book away, fell asleep. But if I look my sleep, sleep data I have fell asleep between 10 10:30pm most of the days, like every weekend included, and I wake up it's now my average is around seven hours of sleep during the winter time, when there is less daylight. I sleep seven and a half eight hours depending, but a little bit more during the summer, I just don't sleep. I think it's there is something to do. Of course, it's a room temperature. I don't have an air conditioner, which obviously I know that it's not the most optimal way, but, but that's what it is at the moment.
• 13:29
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Situation and and during the winter in the room is cooler, I probably sleep better now also, my quality is is pretty good. Or even with this women, it's here.
• 13:39
  Turo Virta (Zoom): But those are just that examples, like what is, what is, how it's impacting and and what also affects to your sleep, that if you are training hard, you are dieting or you are trying to manage your stress, you might need even more recovery time. So now I know that life is busy.
• 14:03
  Turo Virta (Zoom): There is kids, work, hormone stress, and it's not always realistically, realistic, realistic to sleep perfectly every night. But if you think that the goal is not perfection, it's awareness and small improvements. And if it's for most people, it means that you started if you want to improve your sleep. It's not that you, if you sleep now five hours or five and a half six hours, that you suddenly start to sleep hour or two hours more. But if you get you get started with 15 minutes or 10 minutes, and then next week or or in two weeks, you add another 50 minutes, you get 30 minutes, maybe even 60 minutes more sleep, and that can already have a huge impact on your cravings and improving your mood significantly. Like, amazingly, amazing, or like, lot more than you believe, like, it's for me, it's for me, if I think like my my things like those, what I already mentioned, if I have a stressful time, busy period with the work or other other stressful situations in a in a life that affects and you know you are thinking, I'm thinking All kind of things overnight, how I try to do like, Okay, I try to journal them. I try to all talk them out that they are away from my brain. If I have a lot of things to do, I write at night before I go to bed, my to do list. And so then, then once those things are away from your brain, it's, it's you don't take those things with you to petrol. Or if at some point, you know, I go to bed, just can't fell asleep, or I can't sleep, or I wake up, but can fell asleep again. I get up, get out from my bedroom, I go to couch or somewhere else, read little bit or listen some podcast if I don't want to have a human to light. So it's just tested or something. What is calming me down and and, of course, it's, it's, there are some studies like what I learned from silpi Harris, who was guest A while ago, a couple years ago, in my podcast. And those were those powerful tips. What I learned that it's it's bedroom is made for sleeping, and if you are spending time that you are not actually sleeping in bedroom, because it should be a sign like that, bedroom is made only for sleep. I don't have my phone. It's never with me in my bedroom. So it's not that was earlier when I slipped. I said that I hid it for my alarm. But then I took, actually, I bought a real alarm and and my phone is not in my my bedroom, because earlier, you know, you were just at all. I just took little bit my phone or something, and then more you I realized that, you know, you are spending lot more time you might get again emotional. It's not calming you down. It actually wires you up even more, and it makes things even worse. So those kind of things the bedroom and there it should be meant only for sleeping. No TVs, no phones, nothing. And then also, of course, what I recognize if I have a hard training I'm playing ice hockey or or having some kind of my adrenaline is high late at night. It affects, of course, my sleeping, depending like what I if I eat heavier later at night. Those are all things or alcohol. If I drink more than even one portion of alcohol, if it's close to bedtime, that has a huge impact on my sleep quality. I might fail to sleep faster, but quality is never going to be same. And if it's more than one portion, then it's night is almost guaranteed, already ruined. So those are, like, small things, like, it's just becoming like, I track, it's, I have my sport. What's what i i LOVE TO LOOK HOW IS THAT? Mods?
• 18:20
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Of course, they are not accurate 100 pros and it sometimes they so weird that it's not always the honest truth, but you have a good idea what is actually happening, what things are happening, what you are doing on daily basis, how they are like, just becoming aware what is, what is actually going on, and and then trying to improve. And of course, it's like I said, it's not about being perfect, but just making those small improvements and and more often than not, little bit smarter decisions. So if I can give you, like a five practical tips, that is what I personally do or try to do, like most of today's, and these are also what I recommend for my clients. So I recently said the bit time alarm. So it's not just a morning alarm, but reminder to go to bed, and that can make huge difference. So now I have a in my phone. It's a 945 there is a Apple phone. There is a big time that it gives you a small signal and closes down all chats that you don't get any notifications, notifications for new messages, anything, so you are in sleep mode. And this kind of thing that you know, if you are watching your phone or Netflix or something, it says that. It's just a reminder that, okay, now it's time to get started, start your bedtime routine and go to bed. And of course, of course, sometimes it's, I want to watch, still another 1015, minutes, but it's already, I realized that it's it's already there, that this is now, it's time, and it's my kind of non negligible evening routine, what I do. And then, if you, soon as this moment starts, I try to have no screens for and for me, if it's 945 and like I said, my my ideal bedtime is or sleep time is 915, to nine or 1010, to 1030 so if I get into a bed at 10, I read little bit, and then I try to try to fell asleep. So post that blue light, it's messes up with the melatonin. And so for someone else is stretching or journaling. And those are, those are kind of things, what, what actually makes huge impact.
• 20:51
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Because I'm sure you have heard about it that, though there is no screens or something, and I find it like that, it's not like phone is probably the worst. And if you watch like, especially if your living room, that it's not there is not too much light, watching just some TV is not that bad as watching phone. So that is, that is a another thing. So then number three is your evening caffeine. So even if you fell asleep, that caffeine can reduce sleep quality. So for me, it's control is around 10 hours before bedtime. So at least, or could be even if it's for some people, it's even more. But at least I would say 10 hours or that kind of like, so it's for me, I drink coffee only early in the morning and then maybe sometimes after lunch so but basically never after 2pm it could be occasionally sometimes, but I never have like in Italy, you have a weird habit for many people that they drink after dinner. Still last espresso at nine or 10pm and that is actually that's, that's not very smart move for your sleep quality. And then, like, kind of the last dinner, so trying to aiming for like, kind of balanced dinner, so mix of protein, fiber, healthy fats. So those are keeping your super stable, and they are supporting then better sleep. So that kind of like that. If it's if you are eating like a heavy carbs later at night, it spice your blood super and of course, those, those are not done. So many people like that. They tell me that they can't later at night, carbs they try to avoid, or at least that not you don't need to completely, I don't completely avoid, but, but trying to keep them moderate level and aiming for at least some protein fiber and healthy fats. And then I kind of Last but not least, this kind of creating your own calming routine, so Dimming the lights, using sleep mask or listening calm music or white noise to signal your body that it's time to unwind. Like for me, it's it's just going to bed, reading a book for a little bit, and that is calming my mind and singling my body that now it's time to go to sleep. So here are some final thoughts, what I, what I and summary from this episode. So if you have been trying to control your cravings all day and wondering why it feels so hard. It might not be about your willpower at all, so fixing your sleep could be the missing piece. So instead of asking yourself that what's wrong with me, try asking, did I sleep enough? Did I recover?
• 24:04
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Because you are not broke, you are just tired and tired brains.
• 24:09
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Brain crave comfort. So if this episode hit home for you, I would love to share it, and I would love you to share it with the friend Oliver. Five Star Review. It helps more women hear this message, and if you want to help, help building habits that actually fit your life, including food, training and, yes, your sleep, you can learn about more from my coaching options at trainer totcomb And thank you so much for listening, and talk to you soon.