Beauty Sleep Also Makes You Slimmer

May 24, 2006
According to a recent study, women who get less than five hours of sleep a night weigh more than women who sleep at least seven hours each night.

At the beginning of the study, the female participants getting fewer than five hours of shut-eye each night weighed 5.4 pounds more than their better-rested counterparts did. Those women getting less beauty sleep continued to tack on pounds—1.6 pounds more than the seven-hour sleepers did—over the next decade.

The study was part of a 16-year long research endeavor called the Nurses Health Study, conducted by Harvard Medical School researchers. The results of the study were presented at this week's American Thoracic Society conference held in San Diego, Calif.

Researchers found that women who got fewer than five hours of sleep nightly were 32 percent more likely to gain a significant amount of weight and 15 percent more likely to become obese compared to those who got at least seven hours of sleep.

Researchers noted that the results of their findings are similar to previous evidence that people who sleep less weigh more. This study is the first to show that the risk of gaining weight with insufficient sleep increases over time.

The exact reason for the additional weight gain in the under-rested remains unclear. At first researchers investigated these participants' exercise and eating habits, postulating that people who sleep less might eat more. However, they found that women who got less sleep actually ate less. Researchers also found no discrepancy in exercise habits between the two groups.

One of the lead researchers of this study suggests that lack of sleep may affect one's basal metabolic rate, or the number of calories burned during resting periods.

Another possible cause is a weight regulating factor called NEAT, or non-exercise-associated thermogenesis. NEAT is the subconscious activity, such as fidgeting, people do during waking hours. It is possible that people who sleep less do not move around as much during the day as those who are better rested. Therefore, fewer calories are burned during the waking hours.

More research is needed to determine the exact cause of weight gain in the sleep deprived. However, it does appear that sleep is good not only for beauty, but for weight control as well. Sleep is also much safer than diet pills or yo-yo diets. Perhaps, it is time to turn in a little earlier tonight.

For more information , you may wish to seek the expert advice of a board certified physician.

More News...