find my macros
Maintaining balance is key with all hormones in your body. Disrupted SleepCarbs can disrupt sleepAccording to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), eating refined carbohydrate foods like white rice, bread, pasta, and potato chips can make you feel drowsy because they spike your blood sugar so quickly. Eating excess sugar reduces the activity of orexin cells— cells that modulate the sleep cycle and activate neurons to keep you awake [1] [2]. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition revealed that high consumption of added starches, sugars, and refined grains was associated with a greater risk of sleep deprivation in postmenopausal women. The researchers speculate this is due to carb-rich foods triggering stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and causing blood sugar imbalances that inhibit sleep [3]. In another example, an interesting study showed that a shift in blood sugar levels due to a high-carb diet makes it more difficult to get a full night of
uninterrupted sleep [4]. Of course, not all carbs are equal, and natural, unprocessed carbs don’t have the same glycemic load on the body. Even so, healthier carbs like sweet potatoes and beans also impact your blood sugar, and eating too many of them could also leave you feeling a little tired. Food allergies have also been shown to promote post-meal tiredness, so it’s important to differentiate between food allergies and carb crashes [5]. Is Serotonin Making You Sleepy?Eating carbohydrates increases the serotonin hormone in your brain, which can trigger sleepiness. People often overeat carbohydrates to make themselves feel better and this feedback mechanism and increase of serotonin can become
addictive and contribute to obesity.
