Health

Link Between Sleep Loss & Obesity

Many people try to skip out on sleep to get a few extra hours and try to complete their to-do for the day. However, this can backfire in the long run. A recent study has shown that missing out on sleep can lead to overeating, weight gain as well as making poor food choices. It is a good idea to buy a mattress from a top mattress manufacturer like Wakefit to get quality sleep and avoid other problems like overeating and weight gain.

The study conducted on sleep-deprived participants, involved people who were young and healthy. It was found that these participants found it extremely difficult to avoid eating rewarding junk food like candy, cookies, and chips even though they ate healthy meals comprising of required nutrients and calories just two hours ago. The loss of sleep played a critical role in their appetite and encouraged them to eat more unhealthy food especially during late afternoon and early evening.

Research associates related to the study discovered the sleep restriction tends to boost a signal that increases the satisfaction and pleasure obtained for eating food. Interestingly, sleep restriction affects the endocannabinoid system. Marijuana intake also targets the same system and causes a serious case of hunger after the drug kicks in. Popular culture refers to the resulting hunger pangs caused by marijuana as the “munchies.”

The chemical signal is called the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). Blood levels rise during the day and often peak in the afternoon. They are typically on the lower side during the night.

Interestingly, the study showed that the endocannabinoid levels went up and stayed that way even during the evening among the participants. This was when the sleep-deprived participants experienced hunger and the strong desire to eat. When they were given access to snacks, the participants ate almost twice the fat they would have consumed when they had gotten eight hours of sleep.

Researchers observed that the circulating endocannabinoid levels might be a mechanism by which the recurring sleep deprivation causes overeating, especially in the form of sugar-laden foods.

The body uses up 17 extra calories for each added hour of staying awake SO if you lose four hours of sleep, it adds up to seventy calories. However, when the sleep-deprived participants were given a chance to eat snacks, they ended up taking more than 300 extra calories. This also caused significant weight gain over time. To break free from this vicious cycle, it is necessary to order a mattress online to get the requisite sleep your body requires every day.

The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has released reports that indicate about a third of the country’s population gets less than 7 hours of sleep every night. With a third of the adults in the U.S. being overweight, the link between obesity and sleep deprivation has become clear.

The sleep-deprived participants in the study were put through different sleep routines to determine the relation between the loss of sleep and their eating habits. It was observed that they tend to get hungry when they got only fours of sleep. The participants were given to different snacks. It was observed that they tended to gravitate towards unhealthy junk food and eat more than what they would have if they had obtained 8 hours of sleep. This has made it clear that your brain tends to make poor food choices when you are sleep deprived. If you continue to skimp on sleep for a long time, you will continue putting on weight resulting in a significant weight gain. At the end of the day, it is a good idea to invest in the best mattress India to avoid putting on too much.