Maintaining a healthy weight is KEY to
longevity, avoiding chronic conditions, and retaining independence. But getting enough sleep is also key to
retaining a healthy weight.
Normal adults need eight hours of sleep per
night to maintain optimum health.
However, the majority of people get far less. In 1998, 35% of American adults got eight
hours of sleep per night. In 2005, only
26% of adults got eight hours per night.
This means that about 75% of adults are sleep-deprived. Too little sleep
leads to overweight and obesity.
What is overweight and what is obesity? No, they are not the same. Overweight and
obesity are typically measured by Body Mass Index or BMI. Normal BMI is 18.5-24. Overweight is a BMI of 25-29. Obesity is a BMI of 30-39. Studies in the United States, UK, Japan, and
Canada found that overweight is the primary cause of coronary heart disease,
hypertension, Type II Diabetes, and joint replacement surgery. People who sleep five hours or less are
likely to be obese.
“Yes, but I don’t need
eight hours of sleep. I keep waking up
during the night.” I hear this from older adults all the time…. But
these people “doze” in their recliners.
Is dozing sleeping? YES! Napping and dozing for more than 20 minutes
will prevent getting a full night of sleep.
Stop it!
Getting too much sleep is also harmful. There may be “reverse causation” in that we
do not know which came first, the obesity or sleeping too much…. It’s a chicken and egg dilemma. People who are obese often have an obesity-related
condition that has led to longer sleep habits such as sleep apnea, obstructive
lung disease, depression, and cancer.
But how does not getting enough sleep contribute
to overweight? According to the HSPH
article, there are five contributors:
1.
Sleep deprivation may
alter hormones that control hunger. The
hormone “leptin” acts on the brain to regulate hunger and tells the brain when
you are full. Without enough leptin, you
are hungry and crave fatty foods and carbohydrates.
2.
More waking hours mean
more waking time to eat. People who are
sleep deprived eat lots of salty snacks at night.
3.
Research indicates that
sleep deprived people are snackers who eat meals out [especially fast food] and have irregular
meal patterns.
4.
People who do not get
enough sleep have decreased physical activity.
They are more tired during the day, spend more time watching television,
and less time engaged. They are not
moving around and are sleepy all the time.
Too tired to move.
5.
Sleep deprivation causes
a lower body temperature and leads to decreased energy expenditure.
Some extraneous health benefits for getting
eight or more hours of sleep include boosting alertness at work and school,
improved mood, more energy, and enhanced quality of life.
The HSPH article had some recommendations and
strategies for getting more sleep. They acknowledge
that more studies are needed to establish wide scale health programs to curb
obesity by promoting more sleep.
They also recommend lifestyle changes for
getting more sleep:
1.
Set a consistent bed
time. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every night.
2.
Limit caffeine intake
during the day.
3.
Curtail high-tech
distractions in the bedroom.
Resource:
Harvard School of Public Health. Sleep: Waking up to sleep’s role in weight
control (2013, Feb 28). http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-causes/sleep-and-obesity/
