Is your sleep deprivation affecting your diet?
Written by Sarah Morris, a qualified nutritionist helping busy mums
Having a young family is a rewarding and magical time, but if you asked parents what they struggle with the most the answer would probably be sleep. No one understands the impact sleep deprivation can have like a parent of a young child!
What you eat can have a big effect on your sleep quality, and while I can’t help your children to sleep better (I'll leave that to the wonderful sleep experts on here), I can help you create a diet that nourishes you and supports your body through this challenging time.
Sleep Deprivation have an impact on cravings
Have you ever noticed that after a bad night's sleep you crave more sweet and carbohydrate rich foods like bread, biscuits and cakes? Well, this isn’t your imagination - it’s because lack of sleep affects two of your hunger hormones, called Leptin and Ghrelin.
Ghrelin is the hormone that increases your cravings for foods high in carbohydrates and sugar and makes you feel less full, so you keep wanting to eat more. And Leptin is our satiating hormone that helps tell your body that you are full and decreases cravings. When you're sleep deprived your Leptin levels go down and your Ghrelin levels go up! This will make you feel hungry and crave sugar and carbs. Thankfully this is temporary and with a bit of sleep your levels go back to normal.
Sleep deprivation can also affect your stress hormones, especially cortisol. When cortisol is fluctuating and out of balance it can make you feel wired and tired and leave you feeling knackered later in the day. All of this can lead you to eat sweet foods high in refined carbohydrates which can affect your blood sugar balance, and when your blood sugar is out of balance you can end up with that mid morning or afternoon energy crash.
If you're trying to eat healthy then this can be frustrating to hear, but there are things you can do to help…
Food have an impact on your energy and focus
Start the day with a savoury breakfast high in protein and healthy fats. For example eggs and avocado on sourdough toast, greek yogurt with nuts, seeds and berries or a protein smoothie. These types of breakfast options will help you tackle those sugar and carbohydrate cravings by keeping your blood sugar balanced, keeping you full and reducing cravings later in the day.
Stay hydrated (this is especially important if you are breastfeeding and have been up feeding at night). Dehydration is one of the quickest ways to make you feel tired and when running around after little kids it’s easy to forget to hydrate. Try to start the day with a large glass of water and keep a bottle on hand to sip throughout the day.
If you need a quick energy boost and are being drawn to sugar then try a natural sweet treat to give you a healthier energy boost. Medjool dates are lovely and sweet due to natural sugars but also are nutritious and contain fibre which helps to slow the sugar release from the food. Stuff them with almond butter to get some healthy fats to keep you full longer. Or you could make up a batch of energy balls, these can last for a few weeks in the fridge so are a great to batch cook and have on hand for those tired moments (this is my go to recipe). Or you could make yourself a protein rich smoothie as another great option.
Gentle exercise and daylight can really help. Not only does time in nature lower cortisol levels but gentle exercise like a walk will help to bring your energy levels up, so try and get out for a pram walk or a bit of time in the garden in these lovely summer months. This is a great quick way to feel energised and even a 10 minute walk will help.
Iron: the energy mineral
One nutrient that needs a mention when we are talking about energy and motherhood is iron. I see so many mums with low iron from pregnancy and birth who are struggling with low energy and think it is just down to sleep and motherhood. But if you are iron deficient you're likely to feel tired regardless of how much sleep you get. You can test your iron levels with a Nutritional Therapist like myself or with your GP. You can also try adding iron rich foods to your diet to see if this helps, red meat and fatty fish are great sources but also nuts and seeds, legumes and dark leafy greens.
Apart from foods to help you feel energised it’s important to look at things that could be making you feel worse. I would never tell a sleep deprived parent not to have any caffeine (I love my morning coffee!) but I feel I do need to remind you that caffeine in the afternoon can affect your sleep even hours later, so try to keep coffee and tea to before lunch time, this can also help balance your cortisol levels so you will feel calmer.
Be prepared: healthy snacks for the win
Don’t get caught out. If you are sleep deprived and hungry you are much more likely to go in search of sweet foods like biscuits and cake, but these foods are likely to make you feel worse instead of better. So instead try having a nourishing healthy snack with you for when cravings strike. Like a medjool date stuffed with almond butter, or some nuts and dark chocolate, or oat crackers with hummus. These will all give you a boost of energy without the crash afterwards.
Don't beat yourself up: balance is key
The most important point is not to guilt trip yourself for eating less healthy foods. Being sleep deprived is hard and it’s ok to seek comfort in the food you love. Just try to balance this with healthy options so you can keep your energy levels up all day.
Download your free ‘The Busy Mums Survival Guide’ from Sarah’s website.