Low appetite in the morning might be a sign of elevated stress and high cortisol levels in the body
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In our fast-paced lives, we have often experienced low appetite during the mornings. “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” has been a good guideline to receive optimal nutrition from food for years, but the order of meals has been reversed now. Many say that they skip breakfast because they do not feel hungry. This can be a sign of high stress levels, warn experts.
AVOID LATE-NIGHT DINNERS
“As a surgeon, I have witnessed that most of the people coming to me with indigestion issues have associated stress. When I inquire further, I find that a majority of them skip breakfast. This happens because they are either not hungry due to eating large meals late at night, or because their stress levels are elevated due to poor sleep. In many cases, people give breakfast a miss just because they read about intermittent fasting on the internet. Such practices can make our metabolism slow and create digestion issues,” says Dr Sujeeth Kumar Bashetty, senior laparoscopic and robotic surgeon.
METABOLISM HIGHEST IN THE MORNING
“We have to understand that metabolism increases as sun rises and decreases as sun sets. Anything we eat during this time gets digested easily. As we eat late in the evening digestion also takes longer time. These people cannot digest food easily nor can they sleep better. As the late night food does not digest properly they don’t feel hungry the next day morning and they skip breakfast,” adds the doctor.
POOR SLEEP LEADS TO HIGH STRESS
“Our body has to repair itself during the sleep cycle which has REM and NREM phases . It has been found that N3 phase of NREM decreases in people who sleep immediately after consuming food. Their quality of sleep decreases which leads to lack of focus and lazy feeling the next day morning which in turn leads to stress. We find increased cortisol levels in these people,” says Dr Sujeeth Kumar.
NOT IDEAL FOR LOSING WEIGHT
Skipping breakfast might sound like a good way to lose weight, but it is not recommended, says Sujatha Stephen. The reasons are as follows:
1) SLOWS DOWN METABOLISM: Skipping breakfast can cause your metabolism to slow down, making it harder to lose weight.
2) LEADS TO OVEREATING: Skipping breakfast can lead to overeating later in the day, as you may feel hungrier and more tempted to indulge in unhealthy snacks.
3) AFFECTS BLOOD SUGAR CONTROL: Skipping breakfast can cause blood sugar levels to fluctuate, leading to energy crashes and mood swings.
4) NEGATIVELY IMPACTS NUTRIENT INTAKE: Breakfast is an important meal for getting essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Skipping breakfast can lead to nutrient deficiencies.
5) CAN INCREASE STRESS: Skipping breakfast can cause stress and anxiety, which can negatively impact weight loss efforts.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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