Does Napping slow down my metabolism?

I worked out earlier today (burned about 750 calories) and was exhausted.  After I finished classes i couldn't stay awake so I decided to "power nap".  I ended up sleeping for almost two hours (late late nighters are killing me....).  Did I kill my metabolic boost from my workout.....the nap was about 2 hours after I had workedout. 

If this old wives tale i have heard so often is true, do I need to go back to the gym for another workout or does this one still count for today?  I hardly ever nap but I was so exhausted and have so much to do that I felt it was necessary to get on with the afternoon. 

Hi ~ just a couple of comments for you :)

Fatigue slows down your metabolism and actually increases the hormone signals your body sends to eat more.  Sleep restores your body and if you don't get it, then it thinks it needs extra food to function and drives you to eat more.  This is especially true if you don't get enough sleep day after day.

Fatique after exercise is a bit different.  It means that you have used the fuel in your blood and your muscles are fatigued.  It means you need to eat to restore your body.  Like a snack with a carb and a protein and possibly some healthy fat.

Studies show that if you have a snack b4 and even after exercise that the exercise induced fatigue goes away and you will feel better :)

i'll be right back with 2 things on snacking and exercise...

Go Banana's

Bananas Containing three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber, a banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes


Smoking:
Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Depression:
According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana.

This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.


So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrates, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around. So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps
the doctor away!"

Choklit milk seems to be a perfect snack with a good balance of carb, protein and fats.  Check out this article:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/24/hea lth/webmd/main1342839.shtml

here's an exercept, but read the article for more :)

Chocolate Milk: The New Sports Drink?

Feb. 24, 2006

"[Milk] is a sports drink ?plus.? It will supply you with things you need whether or not you?re working out."

Keith Ayoob, EdD


(WebMD) During a 2004 Summer Olympics awash in controversies over steroids and supplements, one sportswriter wryly noticed that top American swimmer Michael Phelps was playing it safe -- he preferred to drink Carnation Instant Breakfast between races.


Now it appears that the six-time gold medalist may have been onto something. A new study shows that plain old chocolate milk may be as good -- or better -- than sports drinks like Gatorade at helping athletes recover from strenuous exercise. 

... They also note that milk contains key nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, in quantities that sports drinks can?t match.

"[Milk] is a sports drink ?plus,?" Keith Ayoob, EdD, a registered dietitian and associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, tells WebMD. "It will supply you with things you need whether or not you?re working out."

The study builds on findings that intense endurance exercise reduces the muscles? supply of stored glucose, or glycogen, a key source of fuel for exercise.

To maximize glycogen replacement, the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Dietetic Association recommend taking in a serving of carbohydrates within 30 minutes after a long and vigorous workout.

Thanks! That was some great info!  No wonder I love chocolate milk so much he he 

So does this mean that by taking a nap I did, in fact, reduce my metabolic rate to what it was when i woke up this morning?! =(

I'm gonna go buy me a gallon of chocolate milk!! Yahoo!

Hi ilove :)  No, I don't think the nap decreased your metabolism.  It helped to wipe out your fatigue though.  Here are some more thoughts on exercise and metabolism from the reading I've done.  I'm not a professional so these are my conclusions and the best I can explain it from my understanding :)

I think that the nap helped your body heal and restore your muscles which is essential to strengthening your muscles.  Professionals suggest (studies show) that exercise causes fatigue to the muscles and little tears and that rest (sleeping at night and a day of rest) allows the muscles to repair and grow stronger.  It is a counter-intuitive idea. 

Along those same lines, your body reduced your fatigue by napping.

However, you could probably have reduced the fatigue by eating an appropriate snack before hand and also within 1/2 an hour after the exercise.

The benefits of the exercise to increase metabolism happen 2 ways.  1) the more muscles you have the more cals you burn because muscle tissue burns more cals than regular tissue... and 2) after exercise muscles tend to be revved up that day.

the odd thing is... just 30 mins of aerobic exercise a day, 4 days a week or so is enough to rev up metabolism... you can even break that up into 3 ten minute sessions...  and you still get the revved up metabolism boost.  the really weird thing... you don't need to do more for metabolism... meaning 1 hour is not better for that.

more exercise is better for other reasons... like strengthening muscles, improving stamina, improving your heart and cardiovascular system.

Cheers :)

That's right, when I went rock climbing the other day I was so sleepy and tired when I got home because it was mostly anaerobic exercise.  It uses the energy directly from your bloodstream rather than getting it from fat as aerobic exercise does.

It's really interesting to see how our bodies are almost like machines.

thanks guys : )

PS. I ate a banana on the way home from the gym today

Can a banana help you stop smoking even if it's only a few cigarettes a week? I don't think so.

I can stop easily, I'm not chemically addicted, but I love smoking. I feel sad when I think about not smoking again, even though I rarely do.

What's with that? Any insight united?

It's stress/emotion related. I find it soothing.

Allen Carr's - The EASY WAY to Stop Smoking. If debunks myths like "enjoying smoking." Phenominal work.

Ooh...one more note on bananas. The potassium helps reduce muscle soreness after a workout! They are super!

Allen Carr's - The EASY WAY to Stop Smoking.....I bought my husband this about three weeks ago.  He read it in one day.  Then he put down the cigarettes and hasn't smoked since.  Says he doesn't want to and never will again. 

He has tried to quit many times.  Weaning, patch, pills, gum, cold turkey, etc.  Nothing worked.  Has smoked since he was a teenager, so about 25 years.  He would even exercise with a smoke hanging out of his mouth.  He smoked 2 packs a day.

We are so happy about his quitting smoking!!!

Bananas are great, when I am going out on a field exercise for a few days I usually load up my pack with 5 or so plus protein bars as our field food bad at the best of times.  Great source of good carbs and taste great, chocolate milk is also not bad but not my thing. 

On a 30 day field mission I was on once I had to pull apart two guys who where throwing punches over who got the chocolate milk, lol.  I think they through something good into our FXT's everyone in a while just to see what the guys will do for it.  Considering they usually consist of sandwiches that have a 10 year shelf life when you get something like chocolate milk it makes your week.

Hi ya'll, Ok maybe I'm confused. The napping and metabolism and excercise thing. I walk every morning for 1 hour at 6 a.m. I am a stay at home mom, and I have my housework and taking care of my four year old all day. I get maybe 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night because my 4 year old always wants me at 2 a.m. and then I get up and tend to her and go back to bed, for 3&1/2 more hours. I do good all morning, but by 1p.m. I am so sleepy I fall asleep in my chair in the living room while my 4 year old sits and watches some cartoons. I sleep maybe 30 min or so. I feel better when I wake up, but am I ruining all my walking efforts by napping in the afternoon??? Thanks linda

I think i'll get choclate milk instead of diet Dr Peper at the store ":).  An I love banannas has any one here tryed the bannana diet ?

Why all the freakouts over napping?  Napping is not a bad thing.  I think some people hear that metabolism lowers a bit while sleeping, and then think that sleep's bad for dieting.  If you DON'T get enough sleep, that's much worse for your body and your tendency to hold onto weight.  It's like someone hearing that eating raises your metabolism, and deciding to eat something once an hour, 24 hours a day.  (I actually heard someone say she would do this.)  Silliness.

If you're not getting enough sleep at night and have the time to power nap, nap when your body tells you to!  It will NOT reverse the effects of exercise - it will recharge your body and keep you going.  Enjoy the rest.

eating something every hour doesnt sound rediculous to me.

everyone is talking about how beneficial sleep is for weight loss and health but no ones adressed the actual question.

part of the appeal of morning exercise is that youd be burning more calories overall during the day because of an increased bmr.

I ran for 30m this morning and about an hour later I napped for a couple hours. we are just wondering if the sleep brought out metabolism back to normal or if our bmr was actually raised even when sleeping.

or chocolatey banana pudding!!