Have you been struggling to lose weight?  Have you tried diet, exercise, and even weight loss pills, but nothing seems to be doing the trick?  The trouble may not be with the things you’re doing while you’re awake, but rather the simple fact that you are awake.  Studies have shown that getting more sleep and better quality sleep can help you shed pounds without expensive fad diets.  So if you really want to get rid of those excess pounds once and for all, why not spend less time counting calories and more time in bed?

The first reason that sleeping more causes you to lose less weight is probably the most obvious.  The more hours you spend sleeping, the fewer hours you have to eat.  We all have cravings for certain foods that aren’t good for us, and the longer we’re awake, the longer we have to fight those cravings.  Plus, sleep deprivation reduces deductive reasoning skills, so we have less will power to resist. 

Getting a good night’s rest makes you feel energized and awake the next day.  If you sleep well the night before, you’re more likely to be able to get up and go work out.  Sufficient sleep can give you the energy to work out harder and for longer periods of time, further fueling your weight loss efforts.

We used to believe that you we hungry when your stomach was empty and full when your stomach had no room left, but we know better than that now.  We now know more about hormones and other chemicals in the body and how they affect hunger.  One of these chemicals is cortisol.  Excess cortisol not only causes us to feel hungry when we’ve had enough to eat; it can also affect the amount of fat we store.  On top of this, cortisol decreases memory retention along with other stress inducing side effects.  Getting sufficient sleep helps return the cortisol balance to normal. 

Two other chemicals that have recently been shown to be affected by the amount of sleep your get are the hormones leptin, which makes you feel hungry, and ghrelin, which makes you feel full.  Reduced amounts of sleep can reduce ghrelin levels and increase leptin levels, causing you to feel you need to eat more when you’ve actually had enough.

Another side effect of sleep deprivation is a change in the way the body metabolizes carbohydrates.  Most individuals have problems fully digesting carbs without sufficient sleep. This means that instead of being burned for energy; these calories are being stored as fat.  Plus, excess carbs in your system can cause a rise in blood sugar levels, along with insulin resistance; these are both symptoms of type II diabetes. 

And if all these reasons aren’t good enough for you, lack of sleep also drops the level of human growth hormone in your system.  While HGH helps children grow bigger, it affects the percentage of fat in proportion to muscle in adults.  Decreased levels of this hormone send even more of the food you eat to be stored as fat reserves, further hindering your weight loss.

So if you’re really serious about losing weight, make it a goal to get a full night’s sleep every night.  You’ll likely start seeing those pounds fly off in no time. 

People with insomnia will try most anything to get to sleep.  The endless tossing and turning can be agonizing, so why not try a sleep medicine to get some severely needed rest?  Well, because the solution may be much easier than that.  Next time you just can’t seem to sleep, try opening the refrigerator for relief instead of the medicine cabinet.

While we tend to overlook it, we all know that food can make us sleepy.  After eating a big turkey dinner, it’s hard to do anything but lie down and take a nap.  This is because of a chemical you’ve probably heard a lot about in recent years: tryptophan.  So what exactly is tryptophan?  It actually allows your body to produce an amino acid called L-Tryptophan.  This amino acid is essential in the production of the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin.  These help slow down the nerve traffic in your brain, relax you, and allow you to think less and sleep more. 

While you’ve already felt the relaxing powers turkey has, you probably aren’t too happy about the prospect of eating turkey before bed every single night.  Well, the good news is that turkey isn’t the only source of tryptophan.  This chemical is found in dairy products, soy, meat (especially poultry), nuts, fish, beans, eggs, hummus and most other high-protein foods.  Eating a small amount of these foods shortly before bed time can help you sleep soundly.

The problem with many of the foods that contain tryptophan is that they also contain an amino acid called tyrosine.  This produces chemicals that perk you up and make you more energized.  Eaten alone, these acids will counteract each other produce no significant effects in either direction.  The key to getting rest is to eat other foods that will allow you to utilize the tryptophan and not the tyrosine.  Excellent foods for accomplishing this effect are carbohydrates.  They encourage your body to produce insulin which “ties up” the tyrosine and allows the tryptophan to reach the brain without competition.  Just be sure to avoid too large amounts of carbs and simple sugars.  You can produce too much insulin; causing you to wake up not long after you’ve fallen asleep.

Another way to get the full benefit of tryptophan is to eat foods that will increase your brain’s absorption of this amino acid.  The best way to do this is with calcium.  And we already learned that dairy products are a great source of tryptophan.  This is why our mother’s always gave us a warm glass of milk at night to help us rest; because it works.

So, if you just can’t seem to settle down and get to sleep, try a late night meal containing nature’s sleeping pill: tryptophan.  Just remember not too eat too much at night or you’ll likely wake up a few hours later.  The most effective plan is to have a moderately sized dinner and a small snack an hour or two before bed.  If you eat the right foods at bedtime, you’ll bed drifting off to dreamland in no time.

Practicing focused breathing exercises can help you relax and relieve the tension you’ve built up during the day.  Our everyday lives tend to weigh on use, causing us to be in a constant state of arousal, even if we have nothing to be excited about.  This can cause emotional problems including irritability, anger, and depression along with physical symptoms like headaches and stomachaches.  Relaxation breathing can relieve these symptoms.  These methods can also be used to calm yourself before you go to sleep.  This way you get more of a better quality sleep that leaves you feeling rested and rejuvenated. 

The first step is to find a good position to be in for your breathing exercise.  Many techniques will suggest different positions including: the prone position (on your stomach), lying on your back, sitting cross legged, sitting on your feet with your knees facing forward, or standing.  No matter what the method suggests, you need to be in a position that makes you comfortable.  If you’re not comfortable, you’re not going to relax no matter how you breathe.  So find something that works for you.  You may also try periodically changing positions throughout your breathing exercises; in fact, some techniques recommend it. 

The next step is to use proper breathing technique.  Naturally, we tend to take short shallow breaths.  Breathing exercises involve taking longer, deeper, fuller breaths.  This type of breathing changes the percentage of carbon dioxide in our systems, putting us in a more relaxed state.  To accomplish this type of breathing, you should be sure to breathe by pulling your stomach in and out (toward and away from your spine).  You should also make sure your shoulders stay relaxed; if the shoulders are moving up and down, your breathing is too shallow.  An appropriate deep breath should bring out the stomach, chest, and collar bone. 

The appropriate deep breath is very slow.  It’s best to allow about 5 to 6 seconds for each inhale and the same for each exhale; however, it’s more important for you to focus on your technique rather than your pace.  Breathe in deeply through your nose, and exhale though your mouth.   A common yoga technique is to tighten your throat when you exhale so it sounds as if you’re whispering. 

Do your best to focus your attention on the breathing.  The point of breathing exercises is to clear your mind of stress, not give you a better opportunity to focus on it.  You’ll probably find your thoughts wandering; just try to bring your mind back to the breathing when you do.  As you have more and more experience, you’ll begin to find it easier to focus on your breathing and relaxation rather than the hassles of everyday life. 

You may also find it helpful to practice visualization exercises while you’re breathing deeply.  Picture each muscle in your body and focus on it feeling relaxed.  Once that part of your body is relaxed, you can move on to another part.  You may also choose to focus on the stress physically pouring out of your body through your fingers and toes.

Whatever method you use, deep breathing is a great way to get to sleep or simply unwind at the end of a long day. 

Like it or not, your character is plainly written on your face.  Your actual facial expressions are affected by the thoughts you think every moment of every day.  Indeed, the fountain of youth has already been discovered by those with a commitment to developing a kind and wise heart.  It’s accurate to say that beauty starts from the inside out!

What you think has a whole lot to do with how you look. Your physical body is an external expression of your heart. Since your thoughts and your motives mold your physical appearance, it’s important to think quality thoughts!   

“As a man thinketh in his heart so is he.”   This Scripture is repeated in numerous texts throughout the world.  The person who thinks pure thoughts, thoughts not dirtied by complaining or jealousy, will be the most attractive.  You want to develop the habit of thinking the best about others, looking for the positive even in the most difficult of situations.

If necessary, seek counseling to unravel some of the deep issues that have you chained to anger, shame, rejection, etc.  This healing will allow you to think more clearly and positively.

It’s really not always the handsomest person who’s the loveliest. A lady can have plain and regular facial features, but by thinking beautiful thoughts she may become very good looking. On the other hand, a person with a crabby attitude will have a mouth that droops down at the corners and more wrinkles!

It’s pretty amazing when you think of it – you actually have the power to become more attractive by developing a beautiful character.  And positive character development involves a skill set that anyone can master.  Your fountain of youth rests in your own hands – and heart!

Rebecca White is the host for Heal Yourself Talk Radio.  HYTR was started to help teach others to learn how to heal their mind, body and soul.  Be sure to sign up for the newsletter for weekly inspirations, podcast releases and more.  Visit HYTR today at http://www.healyourselftalk.com