Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. Visiting family and friends to celebrate the holidays can sometimes mean overeating, sleeping less and being on the road more. Be safe this holiday season.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), along with others, has encouraged us to maintain a healthy number of hours of sleep to maintain a healthy balance of hormones. According to NIH, “Ghrelin, the hormone that makes you feel hungry, increases when you don’t get enough sleep. Leptin, the hormone that makes you feel full, decreases. NIH also states that “Sleep affects how your body reacts to insulin, the hormone that controls our blood glucose or sugar level. Lack of sleep may cause our blood sugar levels to be higher than normal making us at risk for diabetes.”
How much sleep do we need? The NIH suggests the following, “When healthy adults are given unlimited opportunity to sleep, they sleep on average between 8 and 8.5 hours a night. But sleep needs vary from person to person. Some people appear to need only about 7 hours.
According to the NIH, if you have several nights in a row of fewer than 7 to 8 hours of sleep, your reaction time slows down and, if you are driving, you may be at risk for an accident. Restoring that reaction time to normal can take more than one night of good sleep because a sleep debt accumulates after each night you lose sleep. It may take several nights of being well rested to repay that sleep debt and make you ready for driving on a long road trip.
Don’t count on caffeine or other tricks to keep you awake. Although drinking a cola or a cup of coffee might help keep you awake for a short time, it won’t overcome extreme sleepiness or relieve a sleep debt.
Instead of the late night snack, head to bed. Foods that we tend to crave in the evening are higher in salt, sugar and fat. If you choose to eat late dinner, try to stick to a low fat menu and skip the dessert or snack in front of the television.
Avocado are now in season. Try this recipe which is full of veggies and has a bit of a sweet flavor as well.
Avocado and Black Bean Wrap
2 green or red bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
1 onion (peeled and sliced)
1 – 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 mango (chopped) or 1 can drained pineapple
1 lime, juiced or 2 Tbsp. of lime juice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)
1 avocado (peeled and diced)
4 whole grain flour tortillas
In a nonstick pan, sauté bell peppers and onion for 5 minutes over medium heat. Add beans, stir well. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine mangos or drained pineapple, lime juice, cilantro, and avocado. Reserve 1/2 mixture for topping.
Fill warmed tortillas with 1/4 bean mixture and 1/4 mango mixture. Fold ends of the tortillas over. Roll up to make wraps. Top veggie bean wraps with remaining mango mixture.
Enjoy!
