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Why should nutrition counselors assess sleep habits during the nutrition assessment?
On May 01, 2024
Nutrition counselors should assess sleep habits during the nutrition assessment because sleep quality and duration affect weight and health status. Specifically, inadequate sleep is associated with weight gain, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, heightened emotional reactivity, and reduced attention, memory, and executive cognitive function. After assessing clients' sleeping data, nutrition counselors can provide recommendations to improved sleep duration and quality such as avoiding heavy meals before bedtime, routine physical activity, and appropriate sleep timing among other recommendations. If sleep habits do not improve, the nutrition counselor should refer a client to a sleep specialist.