Sleep to stay thin

Some people think of sleeping as a waste of precious time, but our bodies know better – if only we listened to them.

In the US, the amount of sleep people report getting has fallen by nearly two hours per night over the last 40 years, and over one-third of young adults sleep for less than seven hours each night.

A recent review of studies on the nutritional and metabolic balance of the body and its association with sleep highlights the importance of adequate sleep to our physical health.

It seems that people who sleep less are more likely to become obese: it’s thought the lack of sleep changes the release of ghrelin and leptin so that hunger and appetite are increased. Sleep loss also alters glucose metabolism and seems to be associated with increased risk for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Disorders in fat metabolism are also more apparent in people who sleep fewer hours.

Source: Nutrition Research Reviews, 2007