Until recently, being obese has been attributed to having a poor diet,suffering from hormonal imbalances, genetic factors, lack of exerciseand physical activity, etc., but never to a lack of sleep. Now, severalnew clinical studies have demonstrated that sleep deprivation alsoplays a large part in making both children and adults obese.

One study cited by the American Chronicle found that kids that wentto bed late gained weight more easily than kids that had an early bedtime. In fact the study demonstrated that with just one extra hour ofsleep, kids can reduce their risk of becoming obese by an incredible 30to 36 percent. Furthermore, it was found that teenagers are sleepingless than they should. The US National Sleep Foundation recommends thatyoungsters ages 5 to 12, need about 11 hours of sleep and teenagersneed about 9 hours. The study found that the average teenager ages 13to 18 is getting only about 7 hours of sleep, which is two hours lessthan the recommended minimum. This makes teens more prone to becomingoverweight.

Another study cited by Ian Johnston of the Scotsman, found thatwomen that get less than five hours of sleep are very much at risk ofbecoming overweight. The study titled “The Nurses Health Study” ran forabout 16 years and tracked approximately 70,000 women who recordedtheir weight every two years. The findings were astonishing. Women thataveraged only five hours of sleep at night were 32 percent more proneto gaining an incredible 33 pounds .

Women are not the only ones at risk, however. A combinedinvestigation between Karine Spiegel from the University of Brussels ofBelgium and Van Cauter from the University of Chicago found that mensleeping less than 7 to 8 hours a day are more at risk of becomingobese and / or of suffering from diabetes. They performed an experimenton male patients, restricting sleep for two days, and found that sleepdeprivation altered two hormones named ghrelin and leptin which areresponsible for a person’s appetite. It is believed that the increasein ghrelin and the decrease in leptin suffered by sleep deprivedpatients cause them to crave more food and therefore eat more.

Another hormone altered by a lack of sleep is cortisol. Sleepdeprivation apparently causes the brain to instruct this hormone tostore excess caloriesas fat. Sugar levels are usually also higher in patients that sleepless than they should. Patients getting less sleep usually feel theneed for a sugar rush to give them energy. The increase in glucoselevels promotes excess insulin production and puts the patient more atrisk of becoming diabetic. Furthermore, if the sugar is not burned offsoon enough it will be turned into fat.

 

With all the evidence linking obesity to sleep deprivation

, it isimportant to analyze if our own sleeping patterns are putting us atrisk. Adults need around 8 hours of sleep. Getting a good night sleepwill not only reduce excessive daytime sleepiness but will also help usstay fit.

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