An investigation to determine if what you eat can affect your sleep - Literature review Example

Download file to see previous pages Reduced duration of sleep is linked with increased tendency of developing such disorders of metabolism as increased Body Mass Index (BMI) and Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) (Grandner and Drummond, 2007). Increased intake of fat is thought to be associated with obesity and reduced sleep (Cappuccio et al, 2008). Higher intake of fat results from short duration of sleep as a result of which BMI increases. There exists a vicious cycle between sleep, consumption of dietary fat, and increased BMI. There is also a connection between the synthesis of macromolecules like lipids, cholesterol, and proteins (Mackiewicz et al, 2007). For instance, there may be changes in cholesterol metabolism because of sleep disruption that causes differences in the intake of cholesterol. Late sleep acrophase i.e. sleep rhythm’s peak time is linked with increased intake of the fat-soluble vitamin Vitamin D. This leads to the conclusion that the total duration of sleep is negatively linked with the fat intake in diet (Grandner et al, 2010). The optimal level of glucose tolerance is reached in the mornings whereas its lowest levels are reached around the mid of night (Shapiro et al, 1991). The utilization of glucose is the least during the non-REM sleep and gets to its maximum level during the wake time while there are intermediate levels of glucose utilization occurring during REM sleep (Scheen et al, 1996). Effective management of the sleeping disorders and the effects of such medical conditions as diabetes impart the need for maintenance of an optimal level of glucose. Appetite is regulated by two complementary sets of neuronal circuits inside the arcuate nucleus. Leptin is the hormone that inhibits the appetite and promotes the feeling of satiety in an individual and reaches its peak during the initial part of the sleep duration (Gale, Castracane, and Mantzoros, 2004). Ghrelin is a hormone that stimulates appetite and increases appetite as well as the intake of food (van der Lely et al, 2004). Deprivation of sleep alters Leptin as well as Ghrelin. Zammit et al (1995) administered the liquid carbohydrate meals in 12 subjects at lunchtime consecutively on two days and used 9 subjects as controls that were not given lunch meals. The research led to the conclusion that intake of lunchtime food does not facilitate sleep initiation, but does extent the duration of sleep episodes that happen during the postnatal period. Kwan, Thomas, and Mir (1986) carried out a research on 6 healthy females to study the effect of low CHO diet on the sleep behavior and found no significant change in the stages and time of sleep except for an increase in the REM latency. They also found that sleep parameters were neither affected by high CHO diet nor the low CHO diet. Children experience a range of sleep difficulties that include but are not limited to night walking, short-term difficulties in sleep, and more serious disorders of sleep breathing like obstructive sleep apnoea (Owens and Witmans, 2004). Jalilolghadr et al (2011) carried out a research on eight children to study the effect of low and high drinks of glycaemic index on the sleep pattern of children. As a result of the research, Jalilolghadr et al (2011) found that total arousal indices and NREM were higher in the children that ...Download file to see next pages Read More