You know a sound night of sleep can do wonders for your energy levels, your appearance and even your outlook on life … but did you know it might also be instrumental in keeping you trim? Accumulating research is showing that getting enough shut-eye is crucial for your waistline, and if you’ve been skimping on sleep — even by just an hour or two — it could be making you fat.
Case in point, a study published in the journal Sleep confirmed that those who got five hours or less of sleep a night gained more abdominal fat than those averaging six or seven hours of sleep a night. The findings support the theory that when you skip out on sleep you risk weight gain and place yourself in a higher risk bracket for diabetes and heart disease, two health conditions that go up in risk as your middle section expands.
The study participants reported their sleep habits, diets, exercise levels and other lifestyle factors while researchers measured their abdominal fat at the onset of the study and again after a five-year time span.
Important findings revealed:
- Short sleepers (those who slept five hours or less each night) experienced a 32 percent gain in visceral fat (fat surrounding the abdominal area and organs, which is linked to everything from bad cholesterol and hypertension to diabetes, heart disease and stroke) versus a 13 percent gain in the participants who slept six to seven hours a night.
- Researchers suggested a possible link between sleep loss and disrupted levels of appetite-regulating hormones, causing bouts of overeating
About Dr. Soram Khalsa
As an MD, Dr Soram specializes in Integrative Medicine combining diet, nutrition, acupuncture, herbs and nutrition. Visit Dr Soram’s Healthy Living Store where you’ll find high-quality nutritional supplements:
