Early Risers

I woke up extremely early this morning, around 4. I got about 4 hours of sleep. I feel fine, but am obviously hungrier than I usually am at this time.

Does my body need more calories today? Or is it just that I was feeling the hunger that I usually sleep through?

Just curious.

when i was not eating enough I would wake upin the middle of the night often,  and rarely could sleep, i have anxiety problems but then i started eating when i woke up...i hated it peanut butter crakers at 3 in the morning erg...but i could usually go back to sleep...wake again a my normal time, 7 and start a healthy day usual breakfest, and stuff.

I would say that you probably need more calories because you're burning more calories by being awake! Sleeping doesn't burn nearly as many calories as walking around and being active. I would suggest adding an extra snack to your day (maybe 200 cal-ish?) and see how that works.

I'd be careful eating too much extra.  I normally only sleep 5 - 6 hours and get up at 4:30 daily and never add extra calories to my diet.  Although, if I've been up very late and then up early I'm usually starving and might add a small snack.

I agree that eating a little extra protien before bed with a complex carb will help you sleep through the night.  I try to have a small turkey with whole wheat & omega 3 pita in the evening. It satiates me and helps me sleep.

I am an early riser by habit (I get up around 5 am, sometimes earlier, every day), and usually get 7 hours sleep. My advice: always eat a small pre-breakfast when you get up earlier than usual. Say, 80 cals for every hour spent awake before your usual breakfast time! Otherwise your blood sugar will drop too low and you will have more food than you should during the morning. Have a cup of yogurt, that's the best protein+carbs combination.

you probably will need a small snack in the a.m. (e.g. piece of fruit or 1 oz cheese).  Protein before bed definitely will help you sleep through the night.  lean turkey is really great, low cal.  Don't drink liquids too close to bedtime as that'll also wake you up.

Good luck!

V.

if its true that youre burning more calories because youre awake, does it cancel out the fact that your metabolism slows with lack of sleep?