Beauty sleep was not just referring to decreasing dark circles and wrinkles. Studies have shown that a lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain. You would think that staying up you would burn more calories since sleeping is sedentary. However, this could not be farther from the truth. Studies have shown that women who slept even one hour less than other women gained more weight. Further children are also included in studies which show a lack of sleep leads to obesity.
How much sleep is enough?
Adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Well, this must be the reason moms seem to gain weight. How often do you, mom, sleep that many hours at night? New moms are lucky to get four hours at a time. Sleep is hard to come by for adults but it should be a priority since it not only affects weight it affects your stress level, risk of diabetes and a myriad of other health issues.
Children 7 to 12 years old need 10 to 11 hours a night. Teenagers need 8 to 9 hours of sleep a night. So let your child know that there will be no more staying up late watching old reruns on Nick at Night. Get your kid to bed on time. Sleep is just as important for growing children as for adults and for all the same reasons. The only different is that children require more sleep.
What’s the connection?
Hormones play a factor since the hormone that controls appetite gets all out of whack with a lack of sleep. So those who sleep less are hungrier. I can attest to that. I am a night owl and on those late nights getting work down I have a tendency to want to munch. Studies say that adults who get at least eight hours of sleep are less hungry overall.
The 2010 Annals of Internal Medicine study showed that those who sleep less may lose the same amount of weight as those who slept the proper amount but the weight loss consisted of more muscle than fat.
What’s the Point?
Get some shut eye!