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Permalink Reply by Mike on May 7, 2009 at 3:39am

since it's almost 1am over here and i need to get to sleep, i spent a grand total of 5 minutes skimming through this. for those who will not read it, the 50,000 foot level overview is that it's a study comparing the effects of different foods on our quality of sleep. they find that folks who eat a high carb diet (rice and vegetables) 4 hours before sleep are able to get to sleep quicker than usual, so that might be a good thing for some folks suffering from insomnia.

hard to believe so little is known scientifically about the effects of diet on sleep. after all, how old is the advice to drink a warm glass of milk before bed?

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on May 7, 2009 at 12:49pm

I probably should have posted this in Carols group. Sorry Carol.

Mike, Your summary is a very good one. I do however think that there is more than just diet information in this study. It gives a brief summary of the physiology of sleep along with cause and effect scenarios. It also talks about the different metabolic disorders(diabetes) and how diet and sleep attribute to them. All this and so far I I have only read the first chapter.

There seems to be a definate link between between a healthy balance of sleep,exercise, and diet. Just as important are how problems in your personal, social or work place can have an influence on this balance.

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Permalink Reply by Mike on May 7, 2009 at 1:30pm

thanks Rock. no doubt i didn't do the report justice with the amount of time i spent last night on it. so the study also reports on how relationships in your personal and professional life impact sleep? what does it say about that?

Rock Hinkle said:

I probably should have posted this in Carols group. Sorry Carol.

Mike, Your summary is a very good one. I do however think that there is more than just diet information in this study. It gives a brief summary of the physiology of sleep along with cause and effect scenarios. It also talks about the different metabolic disorders(diabetes) and how diet and sleep attribute to them. All this and so far I I have only read the first chapter.

There seems to be a definate link between between a healthy balance of sleep,exercise, and diet. Just as important are how problems in your personal, social or work place can have an influence on this balance.

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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on May 7, 2009 at 2:08pm

I have only read the first chapter, so I really don't want to say yet. Being a shift worker I do understand the importance of this. When I first began doing sleep diagnostics I was also working as a bartender. I either worked 2nd, 3rd shift, or weekends. If you think about the times of these shifts you can see how they could affect social, personal, and even family life. I began to feel disassociated with from my family and friends. Almost like I was looking at my life through a glass window. I would here about all of the fun stuff everyone was doing, but was never allowed to participate. This in turn had a huge influence on my personality regarding emotional control. I became depressed. Along with the effects on my psychological life my sleep and eating habits became inconsistant adn I began to gain weight. The weight gain made my sleep and eating habits worse leading to more depression, worse interaction with family and friends etc,etc,etc. The symptoms that I have described can be seen in a disorder called SHIFTWORKER SYNDROME. Most people don't understand that by committing to the field of sleep and it s understanding we condemn ourselves to a life of bad sleep and disorders that we would not normally have with a normal 9-5 job. A huge number of sleepless nights have been sacrified in order to educate ouselves on healthy sleep.

It was my quest for knowledge that lead me out of this vicious circle. I believe that as a group everyone on this site has the same goals. These are to live healthier and sleep better. The 2 are so entertwined. For most of the people on this site(myself included very soon) CPAP is the beginning of achieving those goals. CPAP is only part of the equation. We must find a healthy balance in all of our bodies needs to achieve these goals be it physical or psychological.

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