Hungry & Sleepy | Food Insecurity & Sleep Deprivation

We appreciate the consideration for our recent deviation, with concern about caregivers no matter the age.   If resolutions are slower than molasses in January, we are keeping it copacetic.  No negative body image or post-holiday fitness lectures here, just to be clear.

US Department of Health and Human Services | Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion | Food is Medicine:  A Project to Unify and Advance Collective Action
https://health.gov/our-work/nutrition-physical-activity/food-medicine

US Department of Health and Human Services | ODHP | Nutrition and Healthy Eating
https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/nutrition-and-healthy-eating

US Department of Health and Human Services | ODHP | Sleep
https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/sleep

United Nations | A Wake Up Call to Fight Hunger
https://youtu.be/HeVhr9V28jA?si=skKS8K6Co59SH6Ae

United Nations | Commercial Determinants of Health
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/commercial-determinants-of-health

Neko Case - I Wish I Was the Moon (Live from the Lung)
https://youtu.be/JbPD88elviY?si=C31Z5bJGmJRiD64Q

In a world of cheaply made bargains, the social and commercial determinants of health are not jargon! Thank you for taking the time to listen.  ciao, for now.   

drmichelabull.com

Transcript

Episode 8 Hungry and Sleepy | Food Insecurity & Sleep Deprivation

By Michela Bull, DHSc

Welcome, Friend!

In our effort to share some health wealth 

A while back we reviewed Social Determinants of Health 

Around Episode 4, we shared the score: 

And if you’ve never tuned in before

Welcome! Let’s review, 

and then explore 

The determinants are linked 

By interconnected domains:

Economic Stability, 

Education Access and Quality, 

Health Care Access and Quality, 

Neighborhood and the Built Environment, 

and finally, 

Social and Community.

Each domain contains interrelated topics within

And each, and every one is connected to Health.

If you’ve been listening, You might be thinking

Dr. B, this social determinants thing 

While it’s kinda sorta interesting 

What does it have to do with me?

How can health literacy help me, my family, or community? 

I can say I’m right there with you, 

A everyday person trying to stay healthy, too

So, today, we’re going to discuss 

Thing 1 and Thing 2 

While we love Dr. Seuss! 

Not the same 2 

But another 2 that can wreak havoc on our health,

As well as our well-being too

Thing 1 is Hungry, Thing 2 is sleepy 

And they are no way to be

Either one makes us feel lethargic

but together 

they can cause brain roadblock

& drowsy-induced disarrangement  

in every population, 

including you and me

In school or at work, 

Hungry and sleepy 

are as pervasive as they can be

They move around our spaces, 

altering moods

leaving stifled strides in their traces 

For example, do you know that thing 2, Sleepy 

Can affect Thing 1, Hungry? 

And vice versa, really!

Well, this goes back to all things health

As interconnected and interrelated, 

not stealth

It’s logical, the less we eat, the more we feel hungry,

The less we sleep, of course, the more we feel sleepy,

But did you know, the research reflects, the less we sleep 

The hungrier we think our stomachs get!

It means sometimes when we’re just sleepy 

we sometimes mistakenly think we’re hungry 

And this biological quandary

When we sleep less, we tend to eat more,

which can lead to our bodies moving less, even more

and that can park our health 

into some troublesome zones

The kind the medical professionals call,

Metabolic Syndrome 

Hunger curbs learning!

On a routine basis, 

students ask teachers for food, 

the interruption is often bold 

because it’s among the students’ daily brood, 

“Hey, Miss, do you have any food?”

It breaks my heart each, and every time!

That’s when I wish I could cross my arms, blink,

And then what would trine?

Nothing but the most nutritious of food lines…

The kind that would never fiscally or mystically disappear…

And while thing 1, hunger, may be easy 

for some to dismiss 

For society to cast off as parental or family remiss 

Is that the best we can do to support our mutual success?

Let’s discuss how seriously Food Insecurity 

affects the rest

Whether young, in the middle, or of advanced age, 

nutritious food is the nest

On which mothers want to provide their families with only the best

But Thing 1 Hunger is nefarious

Women are the primary food providers and processors, 

still – Oh Yes!

Yet for them,

food sovereignty and security, globally 

is more than a bit nebulous

malnutrition in girls and women can mean being underweight with stunted development. 

It can also mean being overweight or obese.  

Both are results of malnourishment.  

In women, malnutrition can impair 

the growth of unborn and live descendants.  

Conclusion:  Various negative health outcomes 

are the results from lack of proper nutrition, 

Before I get on Thing 2, sleepy’s case….

Do we even know what we consume each day?

A processed food item is not food 

It’s just what it says, it’s an item that’s been processed 

That doesn’t make it healthy or real food

Full disclaimer, 

I’m not a nutritionist, medical doctor, or fitness boot camper 

but like you, I try to be a healthy nutritional consumer

and it’s not just about healthy choices 

What we’re served up as food isn’t always legit

We see all kinds of it

Food purchased from a vending machine 

Or at the local gas ‘n sip

The kind of stuff that puts cognition on flip, 

When we’re so hungry we’ll eat anything –

even if it gives us nothing but a low energy slip

And when our brain sums up a zero for food value 

then our concentration takes a deep dip,

it becomes less attuned and narrow

then we reach for sodas instead of water,

which are nothing but detours to a healthy script

If what your drinking is a similar color to what’s in a box of Crayola

It’s probably not the best beverage for ya…

Hunger affects our mood and duration of focus

And as a person of a certain age, 

like you I’m still wonderin’ 

What’s really in the mystery meat they’re serving up for luncheon?

And if we’re concerned about our nutritional levels 

What’s with all mass-produced cookies, pies, pastries, and candy, 

readily available at the cash register?

The kind of foods that render  

fingers, lips, and tongues unnatural in both hue & texture?

Dear Listeners, do you remember when you were a teenager?

Well, they’re just as brilliant and beautiful as we were, once

With not much more than hormones, dreams, and maybe

A favorite pair of jeans 

But I’m going to be straight, friend.

You wouldn’t believe the junk our young people eat!

All day long, things in crinkly bags, things in wrappers, 

The sly transformers called additives and preservatives.

Otherwise known as attention hijackers 

Again, there’s no judgement or dispersions, 

This podcast was in good faith forged 

Just like you, I’m a person, too  

And I’m not so old that I can’t remember

what it’s like to be a teenager in school:

hungry, sleepy, and yes, often bored! 

But as stated for you,

It’s the same for us adults, too!

We need healthy nutrition 

and enough Zzzs on the nightly board  

Anything less, is less good

Our sources of food should showcase 

The healthiest of nature’s smorgasbord. 

Where every ingredient would be nutritiously consistent

Instead of some mass-produced commercial determinant! 

Oh, excuse me, for just a minute, 

On the matter of proper nutrition and adequate sleep

the evidence does not discriminate – 

On this health partnership, 

humans can’t fly cheap!

When we buy a ready-made sandwich,

It’s the 20 undecipherable ingredients out of 24 

That make our bodies scream, 

“Hey, what is all this other stuff in it?”

It’s manufactured by man, 

so our bodies don’t know how to spin it,

Or translate it 

because there’s not a whole of the nutritional in it.

This advice is not intended as preachy or haughty 

But junk food can cause chronic illnesses 

The kind that doctors say are really naughty

Let it be said without further duress

When human beings are hungry, overtired & stressed 

At best it results in lack of positivity and productivity 

at worst, it leads to inhumanity and hopelessness. 

Throughout our lifetimes it’s never changed

When someone says 

Hey, let’s make school meals more fit 

We accuse them of a crime, 

then they, too, give up and quit

and as far as food insecurity in an everyday person’s family

more than likely 

We all have people in our neighborhoods 

who routinely go hungry.

Especially those of advanced age, 

our vulnerable elderly

Per the zip code alert

do you know which ones 

are considered food deserts?

Friends, between you and me, 

as honest as human beings can be

Hunger isn’t something we humans like to admit to,

On that, we could all probably agree

Dear Listeners, 

I’m going to take a brief intermission 

before the conclusion of this week’s rendition. 

Stay tuned, I’ll be right back…

Thing 2, Sleepy has heretofore been briefly mentioned, 

But before I get on sleepy’s case, 

Let us not for a minute rest the Thing 1 Hunger’s case 

Hunger causes feelings of guilt, shame & failure

…and sometimes when we do eat…

A lot of it is made out of the stuff

That makes our doctors crazy with worry 

Because it’s a lot of 

so-called food stuff 

that’s quick, easy, and tasty, 

But mighty unhealthy for our brains and bodies.

In our local communities as well as globally

There’s unprecedented famine and food insecurity 

Among children

and mothers and fathers worry about how to feed them

Just remember Sleepy likes to hang out with Hungry 

and Hungry can be affected by how much we feel Sleepy

Oh but you say, Dr. B – 

Hungry and sleepy, 

Either, or together 

They make the day I most dread

And all that you just said

Well, it just sounds

Like another bull full

from an old talking head!

Fair enough, it can be said

Which is why everything herein 

should always be verified 

from a trustworthy source…

the way we learned in class!

Everyone deserves reliable health information,

Nothing less!

Now for the pesky problem of sleepy

This is teachers’ field observation cred – 

How much can children learn when they are hungry and overtired,

but at the same time overly-stimulated?  

On the cell phones before dawn

Streaming short videos

Like spoonfuls of sugar from an automaton

Because the commercial determinants invaded

It left us with decades of nutrition levels degraded. 

Is it any wonder what negative health outcomes that has created?

from body mass index scales to grades

continued on the trajectory of the over-inflated?

I don’t know about you, 

but I’m curious until the end

Are you getting enough sleep 

each and every night, dear friend??

Fatigue, in fact, is not a germ, 

But chronic lack of sleep 

can mimic as germinator 

Sleep deprivation is a real health terminator 

If you’re having trouble sleeping, 

please discuss it with your medical provider

Above all please don’t stress 

because like you, too, 

everyone has to get enough rest

and sometimes, for some of us

preparing for a good night’s sleep feels arduous, 

like studying for trigonometry test 

but here’s what the research suggests:

We need to pay closer attention to 

Thing 1 Hunger and Thing 2 Sleepy

And the squishy ways they work together 

to make us less happy and healthy

We need to eat right and move a lot, 

so we can get enough sleep at night

to clean our clocks

Dear Listeners, there is no judgment here, 

only useful information, 

we hope to make clear

We need to ask ourselves, Am I really hungry, 

or am I just really sleepy? 

And am I gonna shortchange my mind and body 

By feeding Hunger and Sleepy 

anything less than the exemplary?

Here’s Dr. B, wishing you a healthy night’s sleep, 

as well as nutritious Bon Appetit! 

I look forward to discussing more with you, friend, copacetically!  

Thank you for taking the time to listen.  Ciao, for now!