A recent study indicates that even a modest decrease in nightly sleep can lead to noticeable physiological changes, including weight gain.
The research involved 95 individuals who typically slept around 7.5 hours per night. For six weeks, they were instructed to reduce their sleep by 1.5 hours nightly while maintaining their usual wake-up time. Participants wore wrist monitors, and their blood hormone levels were assessed.
Over the six-week period, the sleep-deprived participants gained approximately one pound. The study also found an increase in leptin levels, a hormone associated with body fat regulation. Researchers observed that participants spent more time being sedentary during the sleep restriction period compared to when they had adequate sleep. Despite being awake for longer, they were less inclined to engage in physical activity during this extended wakefulness.
These findings align with previous research on the relationship between sleep and body weight, according to Dr. Sirimon Reutrakul, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. "The results mesh well with what was already known about sleep and body weight from more extreme experimental studies," she stated. The optimum amount of sleep varies by individual, but most adults require between seven and nine hours per night for overall health and well-being.