montoya 0 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/11/16/national1433EST0606.DTL DIET: Too little sleep raises the risk of being overweight, study suggests MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer Tuesday, November 16, 2004 (11-16) 11:33 PST LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Weight-loss experts have a novel prescription for people who want to shed pounds: Get some sleep. A very large study has found a surprisingly strong link between the amount of shut-eye people get and their risk of becoming obese. Those who got less than four hours of sleep a night were 73 percent more likely to be obese than those who got the recommended seven to nine hours of rest, scientists discovered. Those who averaged five hours of sleep had 50 percent greater risk, and those who got six hours had 23 percent more. "Maybe there's a window of opportunity for helping people sleep more, and maybe that would help their weight," said Dr. Steven Heymsfield of Columbia University and St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York. He and James Gangwisch, a Columbia epidemiologist, led the study and are presenting results this week at a meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity. They used information on about 18,000 adults participating in the federal government's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, or NHANES, throughout the 1980s. The survey includes long-term follow-up information on health habits, and researchers adjusted it to take into account other things that affect the odds of obesity, like exercise habits, so that the effects of sleep could be isolated. It seems "somewhat counterintuitive" that sleeping more would prevent obesity because people burn fewer calories when they're resting, Gangwisch said. But they also eat when they're awake, and the effect of chronic sleep deprivation on the body's food-seeking circuitry is what specialists think may be making the difference in obesity risks. "There's growing scientific evidence that there's a link between sleep and the various neural pathways that regulate food intake," Heymsfield said. Sleep deprivation lowers leptin, a blood protein that suppresses appetite and seems to affect how the brain senses when the body has had enough food. Sleep deprivation also raises levels of grehlin, a substance that makes people want to eat. It also hurts "executive function" -- the ability to make clear decisions, said Dr. Philip Eichling, a sleep and weight-loss specialist at the University of Arizona who also is medical director of the Canyon Ranch, a spa in Tucson that offers health and weight management programs, especially for business executives. "One of my treatments is to tell them they should move from six hours to seven hours of sleep. When they're less sleepy, they're less hungry," he said. Eichling had no role in the new study but said it gives important evidence for a long-suspected theory in the field. Americans average only a little more than six hours of sleep a night, and one report a few years ago even suggested that the growing prevalence of sleep deprivation might be responsible for the growing obesity epidemic, he said. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Well I have been getting more than 9 hours most nights lately so I must be shedding the pounds. I might look like a starving person soon Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 9 hours - thats good going there! Link to post Share on other sites
jstepp 0 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Thats obvious, you can sleep most of the day and eat one meal, then go back to sleep. thats a diet right there and you dont even know it Link to post Share on other sites
echineko 1 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 I wish I could sleeping for 9 hours in every day!! Link to post Share on other sites
linalmeemow 0 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Rubbish - the more time you're awake, the more time you can stuff cakes into your fat mouth. 7-8 hours is the optimum sleep/cake ratio. Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 A nice solid 10 hours last night Feeling very relaxed today after a tough workout while I was sleeping Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 What do you go to bed really really early? Link to post Share on other sites
mattlucas 0 Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 I was asleep around 10 and woke up at 8 Link to post Share on other sites
cal 6 Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Thats a good dose of sleep, I wish I could get that on a regular basis. Out of winter season its just usually the weekends when I can get that much. Link to post Share on other sites
rachael 0 Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 7-8 hours is the optimum sleep/cake ratio. I like that! Link to post Share on other sites
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