SLEEP to Keep the Pounds Off

New evidence demonstrates a hormonal correlation between weight gain and sleep deprivation. According to the American Journal of Epidemiology, women sleeping 5 hours or less per night gain more weight over time than those sleeping 7 or more hours per night.

At first glance, one might think that less sleep simply translates into more time to eat! However, there appears to be many more pieces to the puzzle.

Researchers are investigating sleep deprivation and its effect on two hormones, leptin and grehlin. These protein hormones are important regulators of metabolism and behaviors relating to satiation and hunger. Leptin is a hormone that signals our brain when we are full, causing satiation. On the other hand, grehlin is expressed when we are hungry, and signals our brain when it’s time to eat. Sleep restriction has been shown to reduce levels of leptin while increasing amounts of grehlin, which leads to excess hunger and overeating. Additionally, sleep restricted individuals in this study subjectively reported increased hunger than those sleeping 7 hours or more.

So will sleeping more make you lose weight? There's no easy answer to that question since the only way to lose weight is to expend more calories than you consume. However, sleeping less does have a correlation with weight gain, so to help keep the pounds off you'll need to get a good night's sleep.

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