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You’ve probably heard all kinds of reasons you should get a good night’s sleep: reducing high blood pressure, reducing the chances of developing heart disease, depression, and even diabetes. But, now some researchers have found a good night’s sleep can help you lose weight.
A recent study performed by Care Western University monitored nearly 70,000 women, studying the effects of sleep on weight over a period of sixteen years. The results were quite surprising – women’s long term weight was more influenced by sleeping patterns than eating habits or physical activity. They found women who slept for seven hours each night were 30% less likely to put on weight, when compared to women to slept five hours or less. Over the period of 16 years, those women sleeping five hours or less put on an average of 33 pounds (about two pounds a year).
Turns out hormone production is closely linked to the amount of sleep we receive. Two hormones, leptin and ghrelin, which control your appetite, are greatly influenced by how much, or how little, sleep we get. In another study conducted by the University of Chicago, found that when sleep was restricted leptin levels went down and ghrelin levels went up. The correlating result - study participants’ appetite increased proportionally.
Does mean as long as you get in bed early each night you’ll just magically lose weight? As a scientist myself, it’s easy for me to look for other variables that may be influencing these results. Why it’s hard to deny the concrete facts such as hormone levels, there are other factors to consider.
Is it just sleeping influencing weight loss? Socioeconomic variables are very important to consider. For example, a person getting five or less hours of sleep a night, might be working two jobs, eating fast food on go, stressed about money, and not be able to fit physical activity into their day. On the other hand, someone getting eight hours of sleep could be going to bed early because they are exhausted from a hard workout.
My advice – add a good nights sleep to eating healthy and physical activity. There are no magic tricks to losing weight.
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