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- A new study suggests that reduce sleep each night for as little as six weeks could lead to weight gain.
- Study participants who slept 1.5 hours less gained an average of a pound.
- Experts said the study highlights how important sleep is for maintaining a healthy weight.
Skimping on sleep could have a significant effect on your weight, according to a new study. The research, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, found that people who slept nearly an hour and a half less each night for as little as six weeks gained about a pound.
Weight gain can lead to obesity, which is linked to a host of chronic conditions, including heart disease and diabetes. While this isn’t the first study to find a link between sleep and weight gain, this new research “provides evidence that even mild reductions in sleep are relevant for health,” lead study author Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, CCSH, FAHA, a professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told Health.
Reducing Sleep and Tracking Weight
Previous research has typically examined weight changes following more extreme sleep restriction—such as four or five hours a night—and outcomes after shorter periods, like two weeks, St-Onge said. For the new study, researchers wanted to analyze the relationship between weight gain and sleep “in a naturalistic setting” under conditions that more closely reflect real-world sleep habits.
To do that, St-Onge and her colleagues recruited 95 adults ages 20 and older who typically slept at least seven hours a night. Participants were instructed to delay their bedtime by 1.5 hours for six weeks, then resume their usual sleep schedule for an additional six weeks.
Throughout the study, all participants wore wrist monitors that tracked their physical activity and sleep durations. Researchers also measured participants’ waist circumference, weight, and body composition, as well as fasting levels of the hormones leptin, ghrelin, and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which help regulate hunger.
Less Sleep Linked to Weight Gain and More Time Sitting
Along with the average one-pound weight gain, waist circumference, whole-body volume, and levels of the hormone leptin all increased during the sleep-restriction period. Sedentary time also rose an average of 17 minutes a day overall, and by nearly 30 minutes daily for men and postmenopausal women.
However, participants didn’t necessarily expend significantly less energy overall during the sleep-restriction period, according to David Creel, PhD, an exercise physiologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Enterprise Obesity Center. That suggests the weight gain was likely driven by increased calorie intake, he added.
“Trying to lose weight with very poor sleep,” Creel said, “can feel like trying to carry water in a bucket that has a hole in it.”
Katherine Malcolm, MD, MPH, an assistant professor in the division of pulmonary, critical care, allergy and sleep medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said the new study is well designed and “fills a big gap” in the existing research.
To her knowledge, it’s the first randomized evidence “showing that the kind of mild, chronic sleep loss experienced by a third of U.S. adults can causally contribute to weight gain in a real-world outpatient setting.”
Still, the researchers noted some limitations. The study was relatively small and short in duration, and it didn’t examine effects in different subgroups. That means the findings may not be generalizable to a broader population or over a longer period.
How to Get More Sleep
The study highlights the importance of adequate sleep for keeping a healthy weight, experts said. While a few bad nights of sleep won’t wreck your health, of course, making a habit of it could have real consequences.
To figure out your ideal bedtime, St-Onge suggested counting backward seven to eight hours from when you typically need to wake up each morning. “And it’s probably better to start with incremental increases in time in bed duration to ensure that you can fall asleep well and gradually adjust to the new schedule,” she added.
When it comes to improving your chances of falling asleep, St-Onge recommended avoiding meals close to bedtime, limiting caffeine later in the day, and steering clear of stressful activities late at night. Eating a nutritious diet overall has also been linked to healthier sleep habits.
If you’re having trouble sleeping or experiencing erratic sleep patterns, it’s worth talking to a doctor or behavior sleep specialist, Creel said. They can help you develop a sleep schedule and bedtime environment that work for you, as well as discuss strategies for managing stress, physical activity, and other factors that may affect your sleep.
Read the original article on Health
