Sleep Is Part of the Plan
Short nights raise hunger hormones, blunt recovery and make cravings louder. Why your dietitian asks about bedtime before they ask about dinner.
Joshua SherrodJul 24, 20261 min read
After a short night, the hormone that signals hunger rises and the one that signals fullness falls. Cravings get louder, recovery from training slows and the willpower you were counting on is simply not there. Sleep is not separate from nutrition. It is upstream of it.
A ten-minute wind-down
You do not need a two-hour ritual. Dim the lights, put the phone somewhere else, and do the same three things in the same order each night. The routine is the signal.
- Same bedtime within thirty minutes, even on weekends
- Last big meal two to three hours before bed
- Caffeine done by early afternoon
Food that helps
A dinner with protein and slow carbohydrate keeps blood sugar steady overnight. Very large or very late meals do the opposite. If hunger wakes you, tell your dietitian; it is usually a sign the day’s meals need rebalancing, not that you need a snack at 2 a.m.
