LOSING WEIGHT WITH MORE SLEEP
In 2006, American Thoracic Society International Conference presented their findings of a 16 year study on the amount of sleep correlated to weight gain, in middle aged women. The study covered 70,000 women! Those women who slept 5 hours/week generally weighed more than women who slept 7/week. More specifically, women who slept 5 /night were 32% more likely to gain lots of weight (33lbs or more) and 15% more likely to become obese compared to those who slept 7/week.
The study began in 1986. Women reported their weight every two years for 16 years. The 5hr/week sleepers gained an average of 5.4 lbs more than those women sleeping 7hr/week. After 10 years, those women continued to gain an additional about a pound and one half. Talk about a snowball effect!
The Exercise and eating habits of both groups were also observed.
The 7 hr group did not exercise more or eat less. The 5 hr group in fact ate LESS! So why did the gain happen? Sleeping less could possibly affect a women’s basal metabolic rate. Less sleep leads to changes in the cortisol level. Cortisol is a stress hormone that can stimulate hunger!
The National Sleep Foundation also reports 6&1/2 hours of sleep constitutes deprivation. This sleep deprivation affects the metabolism and health. Inadequate sleep:
• Interferes with the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates and causes high blood levels of glucose, which leads to higher insulin levels and greater body-fat storage.
• drives down leptin levels, which causes the body to crave carbohydrates.
• reduces levels of growth hormone--a protein that helps regulate the body's proportions of fat and muscle.
• can lead to insulin resistance and contribute to increased risk of diabetes
• can increase blood pressure
• can increase the risk of heart disease
Losing weight just may include 7 hours of sleep per night AND following a healthy diet and exercise
Sources:
American Thoracic Society, International Conference, News release, San Diego, May 19-24, 2006.
Patel SR, Malhotra A, White DP, Gottlieb DJ, Hu FB. Association between reduced sleep and weight gain in women. Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Nov 15;164(10):947-54. Shomon, Mary. The Thyroid Diet: Manage Your Metabolism for Lasting Weight Loss, HarperCollins. 2004.
Spiegel K, Leproult R, Van Cauter E. "Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function." Lancet. 1999;354:1435-1439.