Can Getting Out of Bed the Wrong Way Cause Weight Gain? Try This Instead: Part 2
Updated: Jan 25, 2022
One of the most stressful things people do is to wake up the wrong way. We have all heard the expression, "You must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed." However, how you wake up has a significant effect on how stressed you will be during the day and even gaining weight.
How many times have you been awoken from a deep tranquil sleep by a nasty alarm?
When people are sound asleep in a complete state of tranquil peace, their bodies do essential things for their health. It is known as the Parasympathetic Response: Rest, Digest, and Restore.
Right in the middle of it, a nasty sounding alarm goes off that was designed to wake up even the heaviest sleeper.
Many people wake up to a stressful event like an alarm clock making some horrible noise, or you delay getting up because you did not get enough rest the night before, and you thrust yourself out of bed. Then, the expression hit the ground running. The rest, digest and restore response is abruptly ended by flight, fight or freeze. You have to Hop out of bed, fight traffic to get to work, and drink caffeinated coffee to unfreeze yourself.
When a person is jolted awake, they are immediately launched into a stress response that can have them in panic mode all day. Causing them to make short-sighted decisions by stress eating junk food as they go-go-go throughout their day. It forces them to have high insulin levels to balance their elevated blood sugar. As a result of the stress response, they will also have elevated cortisol levels. Both insulin and cortisol are fat-storing hormones, most likely causing them to gain weight.
Resist the urge to get up. Start your day gently. Stay in bed after you wake up for at least five minutes. The longer, the better. Click to listen to one of the following YouTube videos:
Soft instrumental music without lyrics: https://youtu.be/Xx1MjhzKcYw
Guided meditation: https://youtu.be/4EaMJOo1jks
Sounds of nature: https://youtu.be/V1RPi2MYptM
By waking up stress-free, you may discover that you find many answers to challenges you may have been facing because you have a very, very clear mind from a night of healing rest. It is similar to restarting your computer. I treasure this time of day the most. I linger in bed not because I want to sleep more but because there is an open door over my head that can pour creative solutions into my brain because I have an open mind from the rest. Interesting, I have never met a stressed-out person who had an open mind.
When you are ready to get out of bed, slowly sit up and slowly put the first leg off the bed, followed by the second leg. Keep all your movements gentle. Sit for a moment and stretch your arms over your head. Then use both your hands to push yourself off the bed into a standing position. Make your way into the bathroom, and after you have gone, take the time to brush your teeth. It really should be called brushing your mouth. Gums, roof, tongue all can contain bacteria that build up in a dryer mouth due to sleeping. That is where the term "Morning Breath" comes from. Brushing your mouth will eliminate the possibility of you swallowing all that bacteria when you first drink something.
After you rinse your mouth with water, gargle 2-3 times to stimulate your Vagus Nerve the runs through your mouth, helping keep you in a calm state. After you have gargled, drink a glass of water.
This will provide necessary hydration since most people have not taken in any fluids for the past 8-10 hours. Plus, the average person exhales 1/2 a pint of water during their sleep.
So instead of hitting the ground running and propelling yourself into a stress response that will switch the control of your brain from the rational side to the survival side, making you stressed all day and making decisions that are not in your best interests. It could cause you to eat and drink the wrong things, buy things you do not need, and make rash decisions, all based on a stress response.
The goal is to slowly transition yourself from one of the most peaceful and healthful things your body does so it can make your day a blessed one.
We hope this helps you on your journey to a Stress Free Life.