People who burn the candle at both ends appear more vulnerable to high blood pressure and heart disease. They may also be more likely to develop diabetes, impaired immunity and obesity. Can strategies to increase time asleep make a difference for weight control? Scientists suggest that sleeping a little longer each night could help people eat less and possibly even lose weight.
Studying the Effects of Sleeping a Little Longer:
Researchers conducted a randomized trial to see whether improving sleep duration could impact caloric intake (JAMA Internal Medicine, Feb. 7, 2022). The 80 volunteers for this study were overweight and normally slept less than 6.5 hours a night. At the beginning of the trial, the investigators monitored their usual time asleep for two weeks. Then, they used a randomization strategy to assign the participants to two different groups.
One half got individualized sleep hygiene counseling aimed at extending their sleep duration. The other volunteers, serving as a control group, were instructed to carry on as usual.
After two weeks, the intervention group had increased the time they spent asleep by 1.2 hours. They also consumed significantly fewer calories. On average, they took in 270 fewer calories a day than the individuals in the control group. However, they did not reduce their energy expenditure. Consequently, volunteers in the intervention group lost a bit of weight compared to the control group.
The investigators concluded that:
“Improving and maintaining healthy sleep duration over longer periods could be part of obesity prevention and weight loss programs.”
What Did Previous Research Show?
This is not the first study to show a link between how well people sleep and how much they eat. Almost a decade ago, investigators at the University of Colorado found that the metabolic effects of losing just a few hours of sleep a night can have an immediate impact on weight (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, online, March 11, 2013).
Sixteen healthy volunteers participated in a very careful two-week experiment. For the first week, half the study subjects slept nine hours, while the others restricted their shut-eye to five hours or less. The second week, the groups switched.
To the researchers’ surprise, those sleeping less burned more calories, but over the course of the week they ended up about two pounds heavier. Part of the problem was that people ate more–especially more carbs–when they stayed up late. However, there were also metabolic changes. Sleeping too little, the scientists concluded, is terrible for weight control.
