A new research has found that sleeping for an extra hour each night can help people shave off around 270 calories off their daily diet.This is the equivalent of three chocolate biscuits, which could lead to a weight loss of 26lb over three years simply by sleeping more. The study follows a team from the University of Chicago who wanted to look at how sleep interacts with obesity.
Writing in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, the researchers found that young, overweight adults who habitually slept fewer than 6.5 hours a night were able to add an extra 1.2 hours per night after undergoing counselling to improve their sleep habits. Speaking about the study, Dr Esra Tasali said that if healthy sleeping habits are maintained over a longer duration, it could lead to clinically important weight loss over time.
The study, she claimed, did not attempt to limit diets or lifestyle to replicate everyday life. The study only manipulated sleep, with participants being able to eat whatever they wanted to. Cutting usage of devices such as phones or laptops before bedtime was also found to help people sleep better and longer.
Dr. Tasali said that after just one sleep counselling session, the participants’ bedtime habits changed to ensure they stayed asleep longer. The individuals were coached on good sleep hygiene and discussed their own personal sleep environments. The adults in the study were aged between 21 and 40, with a body mass index at the start of the study between 25 and 29.9. But why does this work? Researchers suggest that sleep restriction increases hunger and changes in brain regions related to reward-seeking behaviour. Thus, sleeping more reduced hunger and overeating.
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