Lack of sleep makes your waistline bigger, according to research presented at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Lisbon.
Sleep deprivation has become an epidemic. The National Health Interview Survey shows that: “Nearly 30% of adults reported an average of ≤6 hours of sleep per day in 2005-2007. In 2009, only 31% of high school students reported getting at least 8 hours of sleep on an average school night.”
Sleep is very important because it helps our body remove cellular wastes and toxins, and gives us energy for the day ahead. Lack of sleep has been known to cause weight gain and may even increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr Christian Benedict from Uppsala University, Sweden and colleagues have conducted several human studies to find out how sleep affects energy metabolism.
The groups studies show that lack of sleep shifts hormones that promote satiety to those that promote hunger. Lack of sleep also increased levels of endocannabinoids, which is known to increase the appetite.
The researchers also found that sleep loss changes gut bacteria, which is well known as key to energy metabolism. The same study also found reduced insulin sensitivity as a result of sleep loss.
Dr Christian Benedict remarks, “Since perturbed sleep is such a common feature of modern life, these studies show it is no surprise that metabolic disorders, such as obesity are also on the rise.”
Benedict adds, ““My studies suggest that sleep loss favours weight gain in humans. It may also be concluded that improving sleep could be a promising lifestyle intervention to reduce the risk of future weight gain.”
The study showing that lack of sleep makes your waistline bigger was conducted by the European Society of Endocrinology.
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REFERENCES:
1. “Sleep Loss Affects Your Waistline.” European Society of Endocrinology. AlphaGalileo, n.d. Web. 23 May 2017.
