Health Feature Articles
Sleep Your Way to Weight Loss
Susan Mills-Gray, Nutrition and Health Education Specialist, Cass County, University of Missouri Extension and edited by Jessica Kovarik, Extension Associate, University of Missouri Extension
Yes, you read the headline right! Research indicates the
less you sleep, the more weight you may gain. How is it
that the numbers of hours you sleep can affect your
weight?
“In our fast paced society, sleep is sacrificed in order
to have more time to get things done.” shares Susan
Mills-Gray, Nutrition & Health Specialist with MU
Extension. “Unfortunately, this lack of sleep seems to
be a strong factor in the challenge of managing a
healthy weight”, Mills-Gray adds.
Several quality research studies have shown that sleep
loss leads to higher levels of a hormone that triggers
appetite, and lowers levels of a hormone that tells your
body it’s full, thus leading to pounds that cling. More
specifically, researchers believe that sleep loss
impacts two particular hormones – ghrelin and leptin –
which are thought to play a key role in the interaction
between less sleep and increased weight. Ghrelin, was
discovered about eight years ago and is primarily
produced by the stomach, triggers appetite in humans:
the more ghrelin you have, the more you want to eat.
Leptin, a hormone produced by fat cells, decreases
appetite and boosts metabolism: low leptin levels can
lead to an increased appetite. Lack of sleep causes more
ghrelin and less leptin to be produced; therefore
increased appetite overall. The body wakes up hungrier –
searching for food to boost energy, when adequate sleep
should have provided that energy.
What’s the opportune amount of sleep in order to
maintain a healthy weight? It seems to be eight hours.
Let’s take look at some specific studies and their
findings:
- A 2006 study a the U. of Warwick Medical School
studied 43,000 persons and found that people who get
less than five hours of sleep per night actually
double their risk of becoming obese.
- Laval University of Quebec released this finding
in 2006, that children who slept even an hour or two
less than other children became more overweight.
- Studies released in 2004 by both the University of Bristol and Stanford University School of Medicine found that those who slept fewer hours had higher levels of ghrelin and lower levels of leptin, and that these hormone changes occurred during sleep.
This link between lack of sleep and increased weight gain makes sense. After all, sleeping allows our bodies to refresh and heal, and cutting down on that process can only do our bodies more harm than good. So slow down, get a good night’s sleep and drop some weight while you sleep!
Last Updated 05/05/2009
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