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science nutrition blog

science nutrition <strong>blog</strong>

By Robert Schinetsky

 

When it comes to losing weight, building muscle, performing optimally, or just maintaining overall health and wellness, most people understand that its important to eat right and exercise regularly.

However, the one glaring error that a significant portion of the population fails to take as seriously as their diet or training is sleep.

Sleep deprivation is known to have a wide-range of unwanted outcomes, including (but not limited to):

  • Increased muscle protein breakdown
  • Decreased muscle protein synthesis
  • Reduced feelings of satiety
  • Greater feelings of hunger as well as cravings (particularly for high-calorie fare)
  • Reduced motivation to exercise
  • Decreases energy expenditure
  • Impaired insulin sensitivity
  • Disrupted energy metabolism
  • Slower recovery
  • Decreased physical and mental performance
  • Higher cortisol levels

 

Furthermore, research has shown that sleep-deprived individuals not only have greater concentrations of the “hunger hormone” (ghrelin), but they’re also more likely to crave unhealthy foods.[1,2]

Leptin levels are also typically lower the day after a poor nights sleep, which creates the dual-pronged problem, especially for those trying to lose weight as they may not only feel hungrier during the day, but theyre also less likely to feel full after eating (even if theyve technically consumed sufficient calories).

Essentially, not getting enough sleep creates a cascade of events that counters your best efforts and intentions to lose weight, get fit, and live a healthy lifestyle.

Further compounding the problem is that many individuals simply have a hard time getting to sleep or staying asleep each night for a whole host of reasons. This is where good sleep hygiene comes into play.

By implementing some simple daily habits you can help set the stage for a productive nights rest each and every night.

Some key tips for encouraging better sleep each night:

  • Get exposure to sunlight during the morning (this helps set your circadian rhythm)
  • Exercise regularly
  • Avoid caffeine and alcohol in the hours before bed
  • limit/avoid blue light exposure 2-3 hours before bed (TVs, computers, tablets, smartphones, etc.)
  • Limit/ avoid sources of stress before bed (social media, news outlets, work emails, etc.)
  • Make your room cool and dark
  • Wear loose comfortable-fitting clothes to bed
  • Have a good, supportive mattress and pillow
  • Read before bed
  • Journal/meditate/pray
  • Have a cup of herbal tea, such as chamomile

 

In addition to the habits outlined above, you can also use a nighttime relaxation and recovery aid like Thermo Heat Nighttime, which was developed as a dual sleep aid and overnight thermogenic supplement to support weight loss.

Thermo Heat® Nighttime features a precise blend of ingredients that help facilitate thermogenic fat loss while also encouraging deeper, more restorative sleep.

Lets now take a deeper look into the array of research-backed nutrients contained in every serving of Thermo Heat Nighttime.

Whats in Thermo Heat Nighttime?

GABA

Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) is the body’s primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. which helps slow the firing of neurons. Activation of GABA receptors thus helps quiet” a busy mind encouraging sleep. In fact, doses as low as 100mg GABA have been found to have beneficial effects on sleep, such as decreased sleep latency (the amount of time it takes to fall asleep.[3]

Additionally, GABA is also known to support the pituitary gland’s release of growth hormone, which promotes lipolysis and fat burn​ing.[4]

Most recently, animal data notes that GABA may play a role in weight loss and cardiometabolic health. Published in Cell Reports, researchers noted that inhibiting GABA-transaminase (the enzyme that breaks down GABA in the body), decreased food intake and induced weight loss without altering energy expenditure in obese mice.[5]

5-HTP

5-HTP is a metabolite of L-Tryptophan that can cross the blood-brain barrier where it is used to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin. Greater production of serotonin encourages feelings of tiredness and fatigue, and serotonin is also used in the production of melatonin.

Additionally, serotonin also has been found to potentiate brown fat sympathetic nerve activity and thermogenesis.[6,7]

The versatile neurotransmitter also has been shown to potentially help curb cravings and reduce appetite.[8]

Studies indicate that plasma tryptophan levels can be lower than normal in obese subjects, and they may also decrease during periods dieting, leading to increased feelings of hunger. [9]

Researchers have also identified the serotonin system in the body as an appealing target for anti-obesity therapies. Previous studies have found that suppression of central serotonin signaling leads to hyperphagia as well as weight gain.[10,11]

Newly published research in mice found that activation of serotonin neurons helped inhibit hunger-driven and non-hunger-driven feeding.[12]

L-Theanine

L-Theanine is an amino acid found predominantly in tea leaves that is most frequently supplemented to promote feelings of calm and relaxation. Research has shown that L-Theanine increases the levels, as well as the effectiveness, of GABA -- the bodys main “downer” neurotransmitter.

L-Theanine also enhances alpha brain wave activity, which supports mental relaxation, concentration, and deep REM sleep.[13,14,15]

Sleep studies investigating the effects of L-Theanine have found that when individuals consume L-Theanine daily they experience a higher quality of sleep, higher sleep percentages and better sleep efficiency.[16]

Additionally, L-Theanine also reduces the amount of time the participants were awake during the night after sleep started.

A 2019 animal study published in the journal Pharmaceutical Biology noted that a combination of GABA and L-Theanine (100/20 mg/kg, respectively) had a synergistic effect on sleep quality and duration and was more effective than either GABA or l-theanine alone.[17]

Spicing Things Up

Thermo Heat Nighttime contains a unique blend of common cooking spices to support increased fat burning, thermogenesis, and energy expenditure in Cinnamon, Ginger, Cayenne Pepper, and Black Pepper (as BioPerine).

Each of these spices contains unique bioactives, including capsaicin, gingerol, piperine, and cinnamaldehyde, which stimulate thermogenesis and help the body burn more calories.

For instance, gingerol, capsaicin, and piperine each have been found to stimulate TRPV1 receptors, which triggers thermogenic energy expenditure and increases calorie burning.[18,19]

Additionally, capsaicin also helps improve feelings of satiety via increasing production of the gut-derived hormone GLP-1, which regulates regulates food intake, subsequently leading to reductions hunger.[20]

Cinnamaldehyde (the pungent alkaloid that gives cinnamon its distinct flavor and smell) activates the TRPA1 receptor, which is a member of the TRPV1 family of receptors. Similar to the above mentioned bioactive compounds, cinnamaldehyde also helps support weight loss by decreasing appetite and increasing energy expenditure.[21]

Melatonin

Melatonin, as you are likely aware, is the hormone produced by the pineal gland that regulates the sleep/wake cycle, and its production is vital to helping you fall asleep each night.

Melatonin supplementation has been shown to be effective for improving sleep quality and decreasing sleep latency.[28,29]

What you might not realize is that melatonin also plays an important role in energy metabolism and body weight regulation.

In fact, several studies conducted in animals and humans have found that melatonin helps decrease body weight and abdominal fat without reducing calorie intake or increasing physical activity levels. Researchers note that melatonin does this by increasing brown fat mass and enhancing brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity, subsequently increasing fat burning and energy expenditure.[22,23,24,25]

A 12-month placebo-controlled study in postmenopausal women noted that supplementation with melatonin (1 or 3 mg per night) had a beneficial effect on body composition and lipid metabolism. Subjects experienced reduced fat mass and increased lean mass. There was also a trend towards an increase in adiponectin -- a hormone that regulates glucose levels, lipid metabolism, and insulin sensitivity.[30]

Melatonin may also help protect against mitochondrial and adipose tissue dysfunction via  its anti-inflammatory/antioxidant actions.[26,27]

In fact, a recently published review of melatonin supplementation appearing in the journal Pharmacological Research observed that melatonin plays an important role in glycaemic homeostasis, in addition to modulation of white adipose tissue activity and lipid metabolism, and mitochondrial activity. Additionally, melatonin increases brown adipose tissue volume and activity, and its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties have also been demonstrate.”[31]

Takeaway

Getting enough quality sleep each and every night (yes, even on weekends) is essential to health as well as your performance and physique goals.

Great sleep begins with lifestyle habits -- going to bed at the same time, watching your stimulant and alcohol intake, limiting blue light exposure, managing stress, etc. Once thats in place, and youre looking to further improve your sleep and/or amplify your results from proper diet and training, you can implement supplements, such as Thermo Heat Nighttime.

As weve shown above, Thermo Heat Nighttime isnt a random combination of ingredients thrown together haphazardly. It contains a precise combination of research-backed ingredients to help promote feelings of calm, accelerate the onset of sleep, and support the bodys inherent fat burning mechanisms.

 

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

  These statements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

 

© Published by Advanced Research Media, Inc., 2021

© Reprinted with permission from Advanced Research Media, Inc.

 

References

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