Everyone is guilty of snacking bed. Whether it is a tub of Ben & Jerry’s or even a healthy serving of celery sticks, this late night feeding is actually disrupting to our body’s natural sleep/wake cycle known as the circadian clock. No need to panic, there is a way which we can reverse this chronic disruption and it is easier than you think… enter TRF.
TRF is time-restricted feeding, sometimes called circadian fasting is a method whereby we restrict our meals or feeding time to periods of activity during the day or night (for shift workers), and prepare our body for rest through a period of fasting. Without any changes in diet, TRF has been shown to significantly improve circadian rhythms and sleep quality whilst simultaneously promoting weight loss and reversal of some metabolic diseases. This limited period of fasting is able to reprogram our metabolism facilitating the countless benefits listed above. People who have undergone experimental TRF protocols reported improvements in their sleep quality, minimal daytime fatigue and increased alertness throughout the day, but best of all, a 4% reduction in body weight just by restricting their feeding times.
For those who are in need of reprogramming their clock or just improving their sleep in general:
- Restrict eating to 10-12 hours per day, preferably during periods of activity.
- Eliminate late-night snacks, this also means alcohol or beverages high in calories.
- Reap the benefits of better sleep and losing a few extra kilos.
References
Longo, & Panda. (2016). Fasting, Circadian Rhythms, and Time-Restricted Feeding in Healthy Lifespan. Cell Metabolism, 23(6), 1048-1059.
