At long last there has come a day in Martin that isn’t “coat weather.”
It took until April to finally feel it, but it seems spring is finally upon us at UTM. Also, as evidenced by the fact that two trays of homemade cupcakes had remained in our office for almost two days before being eaten, students are working on the annual “summer body.”
Sure, not partaking in a delicious cupcake is a decent start to improving the waistline, but even more helpful is introducing a regular sleep cycle.
We at The Pacer don’t claim to be doctors, but Michael Breus, PhD, does.
“When you don’t get enough sleep, it drives leptin levels down, which means you don’t feel as satisfied after you eat. Lack of sleep also causes ghrelin levels to rise, which means your appetite is stimulated, so you want more food,” Breus said in a WebMD article titled “The Dream Diet: Losing Weight While You Sleep.”
In other words, when your “I’m hungry” and “I’m full” hormones are not properly doing their jobs, you can almost always predict what happens next: overeating.
The solution? A full night’s rest, of course. It may seem impossible to get the recommended eight hours right now, especially with finals right around the corner, but planning ahead and getting a few extra winks might make all the difference this summer.
Besides, resting your body sounds like a far superior solution to starving your body anyway. After all, we’re going to need our energy if we are to make it through finals week when it actually arrives.
So in lieu of skipping meals, why not skip Netflix binges and other all-nighters in front of a computer screen this April? Who knows, maybe the best work you can do for your body this summer is practically nothing at all, just plenty of rest.
