Halloween is almost here and the stores are loaded with sugary goodness Snickers Butterfingers Reeses mmmm While the little ghouls and goblins are prowling from door to door what do you do Dip into the pot and enjoy a few Milky Ways or Starbursts With all that walking you have to keep your blood sugar up right
We threw on our pumpkin costumes and investigated how those delicious Halloween candies affect sleep As an added bonus we found some tips for getting your tiny trick or treaters a good nights sleep after all the fun on Halloween
But first lets kick off Halloween with a fun video courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel For the past few years Kimmel has challenged parents to pretend they ate all their kids Halloween Candy shoot video of it and upload that video to YouTube
While theres a whole lot of heartbroken kids for a couple of seconds until their parents fess up to the truth there are a few adorable kids who immediately forgive their parents
Enjoy Jimmy Kimmels I Told My Kids I Ate All of Their Halloween Candy videos below
YouTube Challenge I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy 2016
YouTube Challenge I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy 2015
YouTube Challenge I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy 2014
YouTube Challenge I Told My Kids I Ate All Their Halloween Candy 2013
So how exactly does sugar ruin sleep
Its no secret that sugar raises your blood sugar But did you know its also a sleep thief When you fall asleep and wake up in a zombie state at 3 am and end up feeling like a vampire because you cant fall asleep Yuck
Consuming sugar before bed creates a roller coaster effect with blood sugar quickly increasing and just as quickly dropping off as hormones race to bring the levels back under control The deadly cocktail of hormones mixed with high sugar levels will impair your normal sleep schedule to say the least Might want to ditch the candies and stick to Netflix and chilling instead
To eat or not to eat
Your little ghosts and goblins just spent several hours walking around the neighborhood and now theyre exhausted Yes it might be bedtime but Halloween requires easing up on the rules I recommend limiting yourself and children to one to three bit sized candy bars after the nights festivities says Ranine Carter a registered dietitian from at the Childrens Hospital of Alabama Ranine also advises giving the kids a light healthy snack before allowing the candy treat
Alternate uses for Halloween candy
Just because you have mountains of candy doesnt mean it has to be eaten by you or the kids Try out these ideas
Locate a Halloween candy buyback nonprofit to buy your candy and ships to troops overseas In 2014 they donated 12 million pieces of candy
Freeze some of the candy and use it later for impromptu milkshakes and cookies
MMs and other candies make a great addition to healthy trail mix
Use the candy as a learning tool or when helping with homework or for chore incentives
Best and worst candies
Yahoo ranked this years best and worst candies Check out which treats topped the lists and some bite sized facts
Worst Halloween candies
Mr Goodbar In just 3 bites youll have eaten the same calories as a Big Mac
Swedish Fish Made with 2 sugars and carnauba wax which is used to polish cars
Starburst Contains more sugar than any other candy Also packed with greasy kernel oil
Best Halloween candies
Tootsie Pop This low calorie candy will burn with just 5 minutes of jumping jacks Its also fun to count the licks to get to the center
Kit Kat This light wafer treat is low calories and sugar with just 7g compared to others
Jelly Belly Jelly Beans The slimmest way to enjoy cotton candy chocolate and strawberry shortcake Jelly beans are made with pure fruit purees
Finally stop worrying so much and go enjoy Halloween with your little ghosts and Goblins Happy Halloween from all of us here at Alaska Sleep Clinic
