Sunday, December 4, 2011

Sleep and BMI: Effect of Late sleeping on Weight

Sleep well and lose weight!!! It sounds like something you had heard on a late night infomercial -- just when you are getting the bag of cookies for the reason that you can't sleep. But, considerable medical evidence hints some captivating connections between sleep and weight. The amount and the quality of your sleep may silently orchestrate a concerto of hormonal activity attached to your appetite. One of the major health problems today is obesity. As well, prevalence of obesity is continuously rising in all age groups. During the teenage years, most of the people develop bad lifestyle habits; they spent more time on watching TV, surfing the internet, playing video games, etc. That’s why; they spend less time for sleep.

Sleep and BMI: Effect of Late sleeping on Weight
Profound changes in the timing and quality of sleep is considered as harmless. Many studies have shown a negative correlation between Body Mass Index (BMI) and duration of sleep in kids, adolescents and adults. A "good night's sleep" may be more significant than we think. Besides allowing us to feel energetic, rested and clear-thinking, researches have shown that there are links between sleep and body weight. Body mass index (BMI) is connected to length and quality of sleep in an astonishingly consistent fashion, as per the study. It’s not just how much you eat, however when you eat it also manipulates weight gain.

At the Northwestern University, researchers observed the effects of sleep timing on body-mass index (BMI) and diet, and found that late mealtimes and late bedtimes can lead to less healthy diets and weight gain. Study involved a group of 52 adults, including 25 women and 27 men who spent 7 days keeping food logs and having their sleep and awakening activity calculated by a wrist sensor. Participants were divided by the researchers into two categories of sleepers: Normal sleepers and Late sleepers.

The eating habits of these both types of sleepers were tracked by the researchers through the information given to them from the volunteers’ food logs. Both "normal sleepers" and "late sleepers" were kept on very diverse schedules, in terms of when they ate foods throughout the day. Researchers found the consequences for sleeping later and eating later; in terms of the amount and the quality of both their daily sleep and eating, late sleepers suffered more.

Overall, late sleepers spend less time for sleeping than normal sleepers; averagely more than an hour less for each night. Comes to eating, late sleepers consumed more calories at dinner than normal sleepers. They considerably consumed more calories after 8 p.m. As well, their quality of diet is also poorer than normal sleepers; they consumed more fast food, fewer vegetables and drank more sugar-laden soda.

Teenagers are particularly inclined to late and unreliable bedtimes, midnight snacks, and a common lack of adequate sleep, which can lead to weight gain. As we all know that teenagers need more sleep than adults, however they take much less sleep than they require to function well, and as the obesity is gradually more common health problem for kids as well as adults, this new study offers yet another reason teens and kids require the organization of a sleep schedule. Their schedule must include limited eating at a reasonably early hour. Weight problems developing during babyhood and teenage years can have long-lasting consequences which have an effect on health for a lifetime.

Want to know connection between sleep and eat? Leptin and ghrelin are the hormones which work in a kind of "checks and balances" system to maintain feelings of starvation and fullness. When our body doesn’t get enough sleep, the levels of leptin, hormone that can influence our appetite, become down. That means you don't feel as fulfilled after you eat. As well, lack of sleep leads to increased ghrelin levels, which means your desire for food is stimulated so you crave for more food. Give your kids and teens a healthy start by assisting them to develop the skills they require to sleep and eat well.

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