Sunday Mornings; Mankind’s way of preventing obesity!

by Ross Edgley

Sunday Mornings are fantastic; Firstly you can have as much sleep as you want, secondly you can have as much sport on the TV as you want and thirdly you can wander the house in your underwear all day if you choose to do so, scratching yourself wherever you please with no regard for social etiquette. Yes Sunday mornings are a true blessing; in fact without them the world would be a much sadder place… Children would no longer experience the joy of Sunday morning football, there would be no such a thing as a traditional English Sunday roast dinner and lastly men and women the world over would all be fat. You see Sunday morning is mankind’s way of catching up on sleep, restoring the body’s hormonal balance and regulating the body’s appetite and metabolism. As I remain in bed, still in my underwear and watching the football on TV allow me to share my musings:

It was recently discovered at the University of Warwick, by Professor Cappuccio, that sleep deprivation causes hormonal changes in the body that can lead to an increase in appetite and possibly even obesity. Since when our bodies become sleep deprived all different types of hormones begin rushing about the body causing neurons to send different signals to the brain. Some neurons inform the brain we are hungry and need food immediately, whereas others tell the brain we are content and don’t need to raid the fridge like Pavarotti at a cake sale.

It was then, as I watched a poor Bolton FC defence concede yet another goal courtesy of Thierry Henry’s right boot that I realised, the competing hormones and neurons that occur when the body is sleep deprived are much like a football match. The stadium is the hypothalamus, known as the "satiety center" of the brain, where all of the neurons transmit their various messages to the brain and the two teams are:

Fat Free FC         Vs          Obese FC

Fat Free FC α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) = the hormone that is an important mediator of satiety (or feeling full)

Substitutes: Hormone - Leptin

Obese FC Agouti-related peptide (AgRP) and Neuropeptide Y (NPY) = responsible for the regulation of appetite, too much of them and the body constantly craves food.

Substitutes: Hormone - Ghrelin

Both teams have strong players, however it is your star player Leptin who can win the game for Fat Free FC. Yes Leptin is the Ronaldinho of the hormone world, since not only does Leptin inhibit the activity of Agouti-related peptide (AgRP) and Neuropeptide Y (NPY) but it allows it’s team mate α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) to do its job and inform the brain we are content and full.

On the other hand don’t have enough sleep and the hormone ghrelin, will put on his boots, strap on his shin pads and come off the bench for Obese FC. Because when we don’t get enough sleep our bodies produce more of the hormone ghrelin, which, among other effects, stimulates appetite and creates less leptin. Less Leptin and of course Agouti-related peptide (AgRP) and Neuropeptide Y (NPY) are no longer inhibited and so Obese FC run riot on the pitch (hypothalamus)….Final score = Obese FC 1 – 0 Fat Free FC and a much chubbier you.

But never fear good people for as I mentioned before there is hope, and it comes in the form of Sunday Morning. So like me embrace it, cherish it and stay defiant when your wife, girlfriend, mum or dad tries to wake you from your Sunday morning slumber, for your star player (leptin) needs your support. And speaking of support, I’m now going to visit the land of nod for a few more minutes and do some supporting of my own, since I know I don’t want Ghrelin playing later today when the chocolate cake is put on the table for desert.

Happy training guys

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