Weight Gain & Lack of Sleep Connection: Study Shows Poor Sleep Linked to Obesity Sleep Weight Loss Women's Health Men's Health Family Health

Gaining weight? Research published in BMC Public Health (a Springer Nature publication) shows that poor sleep is associated with marked weight gain. More than a third of U.S. adults are sleep-deficient, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report published in 2016.

Until lightbulbs were invented, the average night’s sleep was nine hours per night. We are now down to an average of 6 3/4 hours per night. This is a problem, because as the study showed, sleeping less than seven hours a night is associated with an almost doubled risk of obesity. This is especially true for women, for whom poor sleep was associated with a 250 percent increase in the risk of obesity.

In addition, an earlier study in the journal Sleep found that insufficient sleep predicts poor weight maintenance after a year. In other words, sleeping poorly causes whatever weight was lost to be regained.

A recent statement made by the American Heart Association enumerates the broader consequences of inadequate sleep including multiple dimensions of cardiometabolic health.

The position statement abstract states: “Poor sleep health is associated with cardiometabolic disease and related risk factors, including heart disease, stroke, elevated blood pressure and lipid levels, inflammation, glucose intolerance, obesity, physical inactivity, poor diet, unhealthy substance use, poor mental health and increased all-cause and cardiovascular mortality ... therefore, sleep duration has been recognized by the American Heart Association as one of Life’s Essential 8.”

Poor sleep can be effectively addressed by simple lifestyle modifications. For instance, keeping the bedroom really dark fosters healthy production by the pineal gland of the hormone melatonin, which regulates sleep-wake cycles and helps maintain circadian rhythms.

Do you get enough sleep?

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