Sleeping Less May Lead to Weight Gain
From: Editor, ENN.com
Health professionals have always emphasized the importance of sleep, but why? Research has shown that a lack of sleep can lead to weight gain, but the reasons why have remained somewhat unclear.
However, according to a
new study led by the University of Colorado Boulder, staying awake longer
requires more energy and therefore more food intake during the next day which
can lead to weight gain.
Researchers conducted a
study in which 16 health adults lived at the University of Colorado Hospital
where they were monitored for two weeks.
The study found that on
average, the participants who slept for up to five hours a night burned 5
percent more energy than those who slept up to nine hours a night, but they
consumed 6 percent more calories. Those getting less sleep also tended to eat
smaller breakfasts but binge on after-dinner snacks. The current findings add
to the growing body of evidence showing that overeating at night may contribute
to weight gain.
"I don't think
extra sleep by itself is going to lead to weight loss," said Kenneth
Wright, director of CU-Boulder's Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory, which led
the study. "Problems with weight gain and obesity are much more complex
than that. But I think it could help. If we can incorporate healthy sleep into
weight-loss and weight-maintenance programs, our findings suggest that it may
assist people to obtain a healthier weight." But further research is
needed to test that hypothesis, Wright added.
"Just getting less
sleep, by itself, is not going to lead to weight gain," Wright said.
"But when people get insufficient sleep, it leads them to eat more than
they actually need."
The study suggests that
sufficient sleep could help battle the obesity epidemic.
The research can be
found in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.