CW GA-BAMA – Your CW station in Georgia and AlabamaCan lack of sleep make you gain weight?

By Lila Havens, Staff Writer, myOptumHealth

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Getting less than seven or eight hours of sleep a night? Beware. Sleep loss can lead to weight gain.

We need a full night's sleep at night for good reasons. It not only helps us stay alert, it also helps our bodies function properly. Lack of sleep can upset hormone levels that could cause you to pack on pounds. And being overweight raises your risk for many diseases, including diabetes and heart disease.

Sleep deficit and weight gain

If they had to guess, most people would probably say that those who sleep more also weigh more. It makes sense, right? Sleeping doesn't burn many calories, so people who sleep a lot should use less energy and be heavier.

Actually, research has shown an inverse relationship between sleep and weight. In general, the less you sleep, the more you weigh.

One careful study of almost 60,000 women found that:

• Sleeping five hours or less a night raised the risk of obesity by 15 percent.
• Sleeping six hours a night raised the risk of obesity by 6 percent.
• Sleeping more than seven hours a night did not raise the risk of obesity.

Obesity is a known health threat, but even a modest weight gain can have serious consequences. For instance, compared to staying at a stable weight, gaining 10 pounds can double your risk of diabetes.

How sleep affects weight

It's not exactly clear why getting less sleep leads to weight gain. Researchers have found, though, that sleep cycles are closely tied to hormones that affect appetite, energy and metabolism. In particular, people who are sleep-deprived tend to have lower levels of leptin and higher levels of ghrelin. Leptin is a hormone that tells your brain when you are full. Ghrelin is sometimes called the "hunger hormone" because it increases appetite.

Obesity is caused by consuming more calories than we use. Disturbed levels of leptin and ghrelin may help explain why that happens. A high ghrelin level may make us feel hungry, and if leptin is low, we may not feel full even when we are. That makes us more likely to consume excess calories, which then turn into excess pounds.

It's also possible that when we are tired, we are less likely to be physically active. Thus, we might not burn up the calories we consume, which would lead to weight gain.

Regardless of how it happens, it seems fairly certain that not getting adequate sleep leads to weight gain. Making sure you get seven to eight hours of sleep might be a way to both control your weight and ensure good health.

Sleep tips

If you have trouble getting enough sleep, try these tips:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, including weekends.
• Make sure your bedroom is dark, quiet and cool. Use a sleeping mask and earplugs if you need to.
• Use your bedroom only for sleep and sex.
• Have a relaxing bedtime routine. Take a hot bath or listen to soothing music.
• Exercise regularly, but finish your workout at least three hours before bedtime.
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol for four to six hours before you go to bed.
• Don't eat a heavy meal or drink a lot of liquids close to bedtime.
• Don't smoke. Nicotine can interfere with sleep.

View the original Can lack of sleep make you gain weight? article on myOptumHealth.com 

SOURCES:

• National Sleep Foundation. Obesity and sleep. Accessed: 11/05/2009

• Taheri S, Lin L, Austin D, Young T, Mignot E. Short sleep duration is associated with reduced leptin, elevated ghrelin and increased body mass index. PLoS Medicine. 2004;1(3):e62. Accessed: 11/05/2009

• Motivala SJ, Tomiyama AJ, Ziegler M, Khandrika S, Irwin MR. Nocturnal levels of ghrelin and leptin and sleep in chronic insomnia. Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2009;34(4):540-545. Accessed: 11/05/2009

• Patel SR, Malhotra A, White DP, Gottlieb DJ, Hu FB. Association between reduced sleep and weight gain in women. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2006;164(10):947-954. Accessed: 11/05/2009