If you set an alarm each night before turning out the lights, take note: Waking up feeling refreshed and alert could be as simple as changing the tone on your alarm clock, according to research published in the journal PLOS One.
Considering that sound has been employed as an awakening stimulus for many decades, and the capacity for modern technology to play custom alarm compositions, further investigation in this area was done in a 2020 study.
THE RESEARCH
The 2020 study asked participants about their preferred alarm tones, their feelings about hearing that sound upon waking and their perceived levels of morning grogginess (called sleep inertia) and discovered those who woke to melodic tones had lower levels of sleep inertia.
Sleep inertia can last for 30 minutes — but has been reported to last up to 4 hours and is associated with decreased performance, reduced vigilance and a strong desire to crawl back under the covers.
Researchers suspect the up-and-down transitions between notes in melodic songs may encourage alertness compared to single-note, repetitive sounds like the harsh beep-beep-beep ubiquitous on alarm clocks.
WHAT IS THE BEST TONE?
The researchers also tested the impact of different musical genres on sleep inertia and found no impact; it was melodic content, not genre, that led to decreased morning grogginess. Researchers note that pop tunes, country songs and heavy-metal ballads could all increase alertness as long as the song has a strong melody.
If you wanted to try different alarm sounds, aim for a composition that is relatively upbeat and faster paced. Go through your own personal collection of music and make a list of songs that have a melody which you can easily hum, sing along with and recite. It does not have to be exclusively a piece with vocals either; many melodic compositions are instrumental.”
BEWARE OF THE SNOOZE
Once the alarm goes off, avoid the temptation to hit the snooze button. Attempting to get nine more minutes of sleep can impair cognitive functions all day long, making it harder to concentrate and make decisions, according to researchers at the University of Surrey.
Repeatedly hitting the snooze button decreases both the quality and quantity of sleep. The best thing you can do for good sleep health is to set an alarm for the time you have to get up and just get up. Just make sure to program the alarm to skip the harsh tones.
The ‘harsh alarms’ that are still used today as waking sounds are what we have become accustomed to. This present research moves us closer to understanding how sound can be used to improve human performance upon awakening.
As countries around the globe attempt to “flatten the curve” of the novel coronavirus pandemic, many of us are hunkering down in accordance with shelter-at-home orders. While losing weight is certainly still doable during this time, a smart goal to focus on instead is at least trying to maintain your current weight.
It’s normal to feel high stress and anxiety in the face of so many uncertainties, and you might even feel tempted to go into survival mode and toss your healthy food and lifestyle choices out the window. The good news: It’s possible to combat stress-eating and couch-sitting to maintain your weight and come out of this experience even stronger — you just need the right strategy.
1 SET A DAILY CALORIE GOAL
Similar to when you’re focused on losing weight, maintaining your weight requires keeping track of how many calories you’re putting into your body. One of the simplest ways to do that is to set a daily calorie goal and keep track of your intake of food and drinks with an app like MyFitnessPal. Even if you don’t log every day, regularly checking in can help you stay on track and make sure you’re not over- or under-eating to maintain your weight.
2 ESTABLISH A MORNING AND EVENING ROUTINE
Deviating from your typical routine during the pandemic can make your mood tank, but the reverse is true, too: Re-establishing a routine can help raise your spirits and ward off stress.
Dr. Frank Tip: Frame your day with a wake-up and wind-down routine. This can bring comfort and normalcy at a time that feels so abnormal and uncertain. What’s more, getting enough sleep also helps keep your metabolism healthy, which can support your weight-maintenance efforts. Creating healthy routines doesn’t have to be complicated. For example, consider a brief meditation or prayer or even a brisk morning walk to help energize you in the morning, and an easygoing stretch routine or hot bath to de-stress before bed.
3 SCHEDULE YOUR MEALS AND SNACKS
It’s no surprise following a consistent schedule of healthy eating and exercise can help you maintain your weight overtime, according to a study in Obesity. When you have a set schedule, you’re more likely to incorporate healthy routines and habits on a daily basis — and consistency gets you closer to your goals.
On a paper calendar or with an app, schedule meal and snack times throughout the day. Then, set reminders to help take the guesswork of when you should be eating and use the alarm bell as a cue to log your intake.
4 COMMIT TO MOVE EVERY DAY
Another way to reduce stress and maintain your weight: Get moving at least once a day. Our bodies crave movement and the feel-good endorphins that come with it. As such, make it a point to put daily workouts on your calendar, too. With multiple YouTube videos, Instagram tutorials and free apps, there are plenty of ways to add variety to your new at-home workouts.
5 FIND A VIRTUAL ACCOUNTABILIBUDDY
It can be a struggle to stick with your workout schedule if you don’t have someone to keep you accountable, so partner up with a friend for a FaceTime or Zoom workout. Even if it’s only a text check-in before and after you workout, you’ll get some much-needed social connection, a mood boost and added motivation. Plus, research shows working out with someone can compel you to push yourself harder than you would if you were solo.
6 ACCEPT THAT SETBACKS ARE A POSSIBILITY
Sticking with a healthy eating plan and exercise routine is especially difficult when so much is going on in the world. Times are hard, so remember that you don’t have to manage this perfectly. Rather than getting down on yourself when you skip a workout or consume extra calories, be compassionate with yourself. Remind yourself of the times you showed up to sweat it out and better controlled your portions in the past. Then, commit to getting back on track.
7 COMBAT STRESS
Stress can threaten your weight-maintenance goals by dialing up cortisol levels which in turn can trigger cravings for comfort foods.
Dr. Frank Tip: Find ways to de-stress by soothing yourself and leaning on others. For instance, you might include diffusing essential oils, (one of my wife’s favorites is lavender) and playing your favorite music, or taking a walk outside (while social distancing, of course), reading a book or calling a friend or family member.
8 CLEAN UP YOUR GROCERY LIST
During shelter-at-home orders, trips to the grocery store have to be more intentional, especially if you’re eating on a budget. Now’s the perfect time to cut down on processed foods and stock up on healthy staples like fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables as well as whole foods with long shelf lives like dry lentils and beans. Focusing on healthy eating choices and reducing temptations is more likely to help you maintain a healthy weight.
9 MEAL PREP SNACKS
In the midst of such high-stress times, some impulsive eating is to be expected, but you can plan ahead by stocking up on nutrient-dense, low-calorie snacks. Where and how you store your snacks can make a difference. For instance, if you know you’ll eat a bag full of chips or a package of cookies in no time, opt for pre-portioned snack packs instead. Keep them on an out-of-reach shelf or inside a cabinet instead of on your countertops or kitchen table. This way, you have time to ask yourself first, “Am I really hungry?”
10 SEPARATE FOOD FROM ENTERTAINMENT
To cut down on grazing and avoid reaching the bottom of the chip bag in one sitting, make it a point to only eat when you’re free of all distractions. That means shutting off the TV, putting your phone down and stepping away from your laptop before you sit down to eat. Eating more mindfully and engaging all five senses, helps you recognize when you’re actually full and prevents overeating.
11 CELEBRATE THE WINS
Any step in the right direction is a reason to pat yourself on the back. Stick with your workout? Prepare a healthy dinner? There are plenty of non-scale victories that can indicate improvement to your overall physical and mental health. Make sure to take a moment to celebrate steps forward and acknowledge your progress. If you would like some extra help, call us to find out about our spectacular summer pricing specials.
If you are a fan of weighing yourself every day, (which by the way, I am a big fan of), you may see the number on the scale change every time you step on it from day to day. Maybe you did actually lose or gain, but more likely, your weight is reflective of something less impactful, like simple fluctuations in your daily life. If you always ate, drank and exercised the exact same every single day, then weighed yourself at the exact same time, your weight would be relatively stable over time. However, that’s just not a reality for most.
Let’s discuss a number of reasons why your weight changes and what you can do about it.
1. PHYSICAL WEIGHT OF FOOD AND DRINKS
Food and drink supply the body nutrients and calories that influence weight gain, loss or maintenance. Food and drink also have actual mass completely unrelated to calorie count which influences body weight in the short term. If you drink two cups of water (a substance with zero calories) and immediately step on the scale, you will be a pound heavier due to that liquid mass — but it does not mean you have actually gained a pound of fat, muscle or other body tissue.
For this reason, it is best to weigh yourself first thing in the morning before consuming anything. However, if you ate a big meal late the night before, the chances are, it isn’t fully digested and will lead to a higher number on the scale.
2. CARBS AND SODIUM
Another thing that can cause pseudo-weight increase is your fluid balance. Sweat and dehydration can create losses, but water retention from carbohydrates and sodium causes temporary weight gain.
Athletic situations, such as pre-workout or carb-loading, require high carbohydrate intake to load muscles and liver with glycogen to burn while training or in competition. While great for energy availability, each gram of carbohydrates stored requires 2–3 grams of water to go with it. This water will be lost as the carbohydrates are burned off, which is why the gain is only temporary.
Sodium is a mineral responsible for fluid balance and binging on a super salty meal can cause an imbalance in fluid levels between your gut and vasculature, leaving you with a bloated, puffy feeling as the body struggles to regulate fluids. Managing sodium needs can be tricky for athletes, as they vary greatly from person to person based on sodium sweat concentration. Those who sweat heavily and often have crusty, white residue on their skin and clothes after a workout, have daily needs far beyond the suggested intake of 2,300mg/d for the general public.
3. SWEAT
Water loss is a big factor in quick weight fluctuations. Many athletes succumb to dehydration during long, hard workouts, especially in hot and humid conditions. Dehydration of 2% body weight that isn’t replenished before weighing in results in a 3-pound ‘loss’ for a 160-pound adult. Weighing yourself before and after workouts can provide you with a sweat rate and allow you to replenish fluids lost more accurately.
4. DAY OF THE WEEK
Our eating habits change throughout the week. Typically, the week starts off with healthy motivation on Monday and slowly declines as the week goes on to happy hour and take-out over the weekend. Studies have shown this eating cycle is reflected on the scale with the highest weigh-ins being Saturday through Tuesday before decreasing again as your body processes and adjusts for the varying intake.
This cycle should be accredited to normal fluctuations and not attributed to true weight gain. If you’d like to reduce this weekly flux, aim to maintain consistent, healthy eating habits all seven days of the week.
5. HORMONES
Cortisol, the stress hormone can be elevated after workouts and other periods of high physical or mental stress. This hormone increases inflammation in the body which messes with digestion, fluid retention, hunger and metabolism.
Females are more prone to weight fluctuations due to the menstrual cycle. A combination of changes in eating habits and fluid retention causes most women to be at their highest weight on the first day of menstrual flow and lowest at the mid-follicular period. While there isn’t much you can do about the monthly fluctuation of female hormones, you can work to reduce lifestyle stress and general inflammation with relaxation techniques and a high antioxidant diet.
6. BOWEL MOVEMENTS
Just as food has mass going in, you also have mass going out. Research suggests you lose about a quarter pound of poop a day. If you are a bit backed up, that can add up when you step on the scale. Fiber helps move food waste through the intestines to be excreted. On-the-go lifestyles, reliance on sport foods, and fear of GI upset during performances can have athletes missing out on the recommended 25–30 grams per day of fiber intake. Aim to maintain regular bowel movements with proper hydration and a fibrous diet high in plant foods.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Weighing yourself each morning allows you to connect the fluctuations on the scale to your eating, workouts, stress, etc … and get an overall better understanding of how your body reacts in a big picture way.
However, seeing a constantly changing number can be frustrating and research has documented that constant fluctuations can lead to a negative mindset around weight. If you are looking to gain or lose, keep in mind the day-to-day matters less than the long-term trend.
Consider getting an average weekly weight: Just weigh yourself each morning, write it down and at the end of every week add the seven days of weights up, then divide by seven. Do this all month, and you’ll see if your weight is trending up or down while averaging out those little ups and downs that do not reflect true weight changes.
Belly fat. Not exactly the most flattering term in the health industry, but a very real, very powerful indicator of one’s health status.
More scientifically known as visceral fat, belly fat is the kind of fat that surrounds your organs, causing your belly to bulge when you start accumulating too much of it. It can be quite dangerous for your health, too; a leading predictor of heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and even cancer.
So, what does belly fat have to do with inflammation? A lot, actually. Inflammation is our body’s natural defense system. There are two types: acute and chronic. Acute inflammation is the one you can physically see in action – like redness and swelling when you cut your finger. Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is a bit more undetectable to the naked eye. It’s sneaky.
THE DANGERS OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION
Chronic inflammation occurs when our body responds to unwanted substances in the body, like excess fat cells that accumulate in the belly area. Like the name suggests, chronic inflammation doesn’t turn “on” and “off” like acute inflammation. The body turns “on” and stays activated for long periods of time making us sick. As fat cells continue to accumulate in the belly area, your body responds by continuously producing insulin — a hormone that “unlocks” your body’s muscle, liver and fat cell doors to allow glucose inside to be stored.
Over time, these muscle, fat and liver cells stop responding as efficiently to the insulin. The keys stop working, glucose builds up in the blood, and our body shifts into overdrive to pump out more insulin. But no matter how much insulin our body produces, not enough cells “unlock” to absorb the glucose.
Simply put, we become one giant hormonal imbalance, which leads to a whole slew of other problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and even cardiovascular disease.
But it doesn’t stop there. This imbalance, or stress, causes our bodies natural defense system — inflammation — to kick in and release even more chemicals to try and fight it. In small doses, inflammation is a good thing. But over time, you end up with too much of it. Our bodies aren’t designed to be on high alert all the time.
WAYS TO COMBAT INFLAMMATION
So, what can you do about it?
Losing weight — and belly fat — can drastically help reduce inflammation. Many experimental studies have shown that components of food or beverages may have anti-inflammatory effects.
First, do your best to avoid foods that fuel inflammation and begin eating foods that fight inflammation.
FOODS THAT FUEL INFLAMMATION
Refined carbohydrates and added sugars
Sodas (both regular and diet) and other sugary beverages
Processed Meats
Fried Foods
Artificial Sweeteners
Artificial Additives and preservatives
Trans Fats (found in packaged and processed snacks and sweets)
Gluten
A1 Casein (a protein found in dairy products)
FOODS THAT FIGHT INFLAMMATION
Green Leafy Vegetables
Olive Oil
Nuts and Seeds
Fatty Fish and Seafood
Berries and Citrus Fruits
Black Coffee
Herbs and Spices (turmeric, garlic and ginger)
Fermented Foods
It all starts with a healthy diet and lifestyle. Add more foods that fight inflammation into your diet, cut out those that fuel the imbalance, and you’ll start to look better, feel better and possibly even help your body prevent certain diseases and illnesses.
