You can increase your fat-burning capabilities and cut your carvings by getting enough sleep! Smart for Life Cookie Diet

You know lack of sleep makes you groggy. Now, a new Swedish study reveals it’s also a top reason so many of us have trouble staying slim! When we’re sleep-deprived, researchers explain, our ability to burn calories plunges as much as 20% – plus our production of ghrelin (a hunger-promoting hormone) skyrockets! The fix is simple: Sleep at least seven hours nightly and this metabolic mayhem reverses within four days – helping you shed up to 24 pounds without any effort. So how can you sleep better? Get Free Shipping on your First Week’s Order a $24.95 value at BistroMD.com. Use Coupon Code: FreeShipping2012

By:

Eating fruit in the evening

Fructose – the natural sugar in fruit – increases production of calming brain chemicals, making you feel sleepy in as little as 20 minutes, say researchers. The study proven: 1 cup close to bedtime.

Scrunching your shoulders

Stretching for 10 minutes before bed – by scrunching your shoulders, doing head rolls and arching your back – helps 90% of women droft off more easily be releasing pent-up tension and calming anxious thoughts.

Wearing looser pj’s

Snug sleepwear blocks the escape of body heat – and when your core temperature stays high, your brain’s production of sleep-inducing melatonin slows. Instead of form-fitting pj’s, wear loose, oversized jammies so you stay comfortably cool. HFLSolutions.com

Massaging you calves

You’ll drift off almost twise as fast if you give yourself a five-minute calf massage at bedtime. Why? Massage stimulates nerves in the leg that soothe the adrenals, glands that pump out the stress hormones that interfere with sleep! Workout with America’s Personal Trainer – Tony Little! Wide selection of DVD’s to choose from.

Putting lavender potpourri in the bedroom

The scent of lavender amps up production of relaxing brain waves, including slumber in as little as 10 minutes, explains James Balch, M.D., coauthor of Prescription for Natural Cures.

 

Ease up on the melatonin!

True, taking 1 mg. of melatonin supplement at bedtime helps 86% of women sleep more deeply. The catch? “Melatonin can become a lot less effective if you take it nightly – so use it three times a week, max,” advises nutrition researcher Ray Sahelian, M.D. Always check with your doctor before starting a new supplement. Apatrim

–      Brenda Kearns