Improve Your Dieting Success - Get Plenty of Sleep!

Sleep... we all know how important it is for our overall health.  Despite this it seems like many of us never get enough sleep.  Busy evenings after work and the need for a little 'down time' before heading to bed often result in many of us getting to sleep a lot later than we should.  Combine this with often having to get up early for work or having to get the kids ready for school, and we're lucky to get an adequate amount of sleep.

Previous research has shown us that a lack of sleep puts us at an increased risk for becoming overweight or obese.  This appears to be due to a number of factors including (1) altered metabolic hormones that effect our appetite, (2) changes in blood glucose metabolism, and (3) altered waking behaviors that lead to greater consumption of high-calorie foods and decreased exercise.  While this research clearly indicates that a lack of sleep can put us at risk for becoming overweight or obese, new research also suggests that a lack of sleep can affect our weight loss success when dieting.

A new weight loss study examined the impact of sleep restriction on body fat loss in individuals following a reduced-calorie diet.  In this small pilot study, weight loss investigators asked 10 overweight, adult volunteers to sleep in a sleep laboratory for two 14-day dieting periods.  During the first dieting period, study volunteers were allowed to sleep for 8.5 hours per night.  The volunteers were only allowed to sleep for 5.5 hours per night during the second 14-day diet period.  The weight loss researchers examined changes in body fat loss and lean tissue loss in addition to other measures.  The results of this study showed that:

• Body fat loss was greater when volunteers received 8.5 hours of sleep per night (~3 lbs) compared to when volunteers were restricted to 5.5 hours of sleep per night (~1.3 lbs). 
• Sleep restriction resulted in greater amounts of lean tissue loss (~5 lbs) compared to getting a full night's sleep (~3 lbs).
• Sleep restriction was linked to unfavorable changes in metabolic hormones resulting in an adaptation to caloric restriction, increased hunger, and reduced fat breakdown.

While this is clearly early research done in a very small group of volunteers, these fascinating research results clearly suggest that the amount of sleep we get can effect our weight loss efforts.  While the study volunteers successfully lost weight regardless of how much they slept, getting an inadequate amount of sleep appeared to cause dieters to lose more lean muscle mass than fat mass.  Additionally, a lack of sleep redued the amount of body fat lost.  Ideally, we want to lose fat mass and maintain lean muscle mass when dieting, which is one of the important reasons for exercising while dieting.  However, not getting enough sleep while dieting can make it difficult to achieve healthy weight and fat loss.

If you are on weight loss program or getting ready to start a diet plan, it is important to make sure you get enough sleep.  Getting inadequate amounts of sleep might reduce your weight loss success.

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Obesity in Teen Boys Linked to Lack of Sleep

While obesity is a complex health condition, research continues to show that one of the factors associated with increasing body weight is a lack of sleep.  A new research study explored this relationship between obesity and sleep duration in teens, a group that has been understudied in this regard.

For this new obesity study, investigators collected information from over 700 male and female teens (15 years of age on average) in regards to weekday sleeping habits, weekend sleeping habits, diet, physical activity, body weight, body mass index, and body fat level.  The study investigators reported:

• Less sleep overall was related to a higher body mass index in teen boys.
• The association between less sleep and higher body mass index was greater in middle school students compared to high school students.
• Teen girls showed a link between higher body mass index and lack of sleep on the weekends, but not weekdays.

These study results confirm earlier reports on the link between sleep and obesity risk; however, these new results highlight the importance of sleep for teens, particularly teen boys.  Teens can frequently be exposed to many kinds of stressors that might impact sleep levels. Pressure from friends, peers, teachers, and relatives to meet certain expectations are a part of most teens daily lives.   This pressure can impact the quality and duration of teens' sleep.  The link between a lack of sleep and obesity involves many factors, which have been discussed in one of my earlier blogs.  Getting enough sleep is one of many important health habits that we should all adopt.

In addition to getting enough sleep, developing good eating and exercise habits are important for maintaining a healthy body weight throughout life.  My easy diet plan is a simple and delicious way to manage one's body weight.

Links Between Chronic Sleep Deprivation and Obesity

Sleep… we all want and enjoy a good night of sleep.  It makes us more alert and energetic throughout the day.  However, with the hectic schedules most of us keep, very few of us get enough sleep.
 

A new paper reviewed the scientific literature linking chronic sleep restriction (between 4 – 7 hours per night for a long duration of time) with obesity in more detail.  This new paper, which is free to download and read, looked at three distinct pathways by which sleep restriction might lead to obesity.  

Altered Neuroendocrine & Metabolic Functions

Several research studies have reported changes in neuroendocrine and metabolic hormones as a result of sleep restriction.  In one study, it has been reported that sleeping only 4 hours per night for 6 consecutive nights causes an increase in evening cortisol levels, an increase in growth hormone levels, a reduction in thyroid stimulating hormone, and a reduction in leptin levels.  A shorter study showed an 18% reduction in leptin and a 28% increase in the hormone ghrelin.  This reduction in leptin and increase in ghrelin was associated with a 24% increase in hunger and a 23% increase in appetite.

Overall, these studies indicate that sleep restriction can alter metabolic hormone levels that results in changes in appetite and hunger, which can possibly lead to overeating and weight gain.

Altered Glucose Regulation

Research on glucose regulation and sleep deprivation has reported that six nights of sleep restriction can substantially reduce the effectiveness of glucose and reduce the body’s ability to use glucose.  Other studies have suggested that poor utilization of glucose can lead to increased hunger and increased food consumption and that lower blood glucose at the end of an oral glucose tolerance test lead to weight gain.

Therefore, it appears that long term sleep restriction might lead to changes in blood glucose levels and changes in the ability of our body to use glucose, changes that might lead to unwanted weight gain.

Altered Waking Behavior

According to this new review paper, long-term sleep restriction can lead to a variety of behaviors during the day that might lead to weight gain over time.  For example, one study reported that individuals subjected to 14 days of sleep restriction increased food intake, which happened mainly at night when they normally would have been asleep.  Additionally, a lack of sleep has been shown to result in increased consumption of high-energy drinks or snacks to boost energy and fatigue from the lack of sleep resulted in a reduction in physical activity.

In general, these studies suggest that sleep restriction can result in increased food intake, increased intake of high-calorie foods, and a reduction if exercise… all behaviors that can lead to increased weight gain.

Overall, this review suggest that not only does sleep restriction appear to increase obesity risk, it appears to do so through multiple pathways.  So in addition to following a healthy eating plan like my Slim and Beautiful diet plan, remember to get an adequate amount of sleep whenever possible.