Lack of Sleep Means Pain, Weight Gain

Jan. 22, 2008 — -- "What happened to you last night? You look like hell."

You may be surprised when a friend greets you in this way on an early Monday morning after a busy weekend. Then again, considering your routine, it might come as no shock at all.

The latest news on the election, worries over stock market — and perhaps even your favorite realty show — might keep you up throughout the night, till midnight, 1 a.m. or even 2 a.m.

Ouch, it's time to go to bed, right? But now you can't fall asleep because you heart is pumping from excitement over the latest news. After a couple of weeks, you notice that you lack energy, and aches and pains are arising that you have not had before.

You start to make appointments with doctors to get to the bottom of the pains. Yet, nobody can find anything wrong. You try physical therapy, pain medication and natural remedies. Still no success. Might sleep be the cause of the issues?

The fact is, staying up late is easy to do when you are young. You used to bounce back. Remember when you could work a full day, head home, change clothes and go out again? It was fun, and you did it three nights in a row. But now you're older, and things have changed.

Sleep is one very important consideration for anyone. We need sleep to restore and repair our systems. Yet, because of the pressures and distractions of modern society, our natural patterns are often interrupted, possibly causing pain and weight gain.

Our natural sleep pattern is influenced by light. The cycles of light and dark that occur because of the movement of the sun affect all living creatures.

When health experts speak of our sleeping cycle, you'll often hear it referred to as our "circadian cycle." In times past, it was natural to rise with sunrise and wind down at sundown. Times have changed. You work on the computer, watch TV and read late under electric lights. Hence, there are many opportunities to interrupt our circadian cycle.