A person’s weight is an important factor in their overall health. You don’t want to be too light, nor do you want to be too heavy, as both can pose a lot of health-related hazards. This is why malnourished people are told to gain weight, while obese people are encouraged to shed some of that extra pounds.
As it turns out however, there’s a hidden factor that affects our body’s ability to lose weight, therefore thwarting our efforts — our sleeping patterns.
Obesity is a serious problem. In the U.S., more than one in three people live with the condition. However, it’s not the only problem that poses a lot of danger to people in and out of the country. Another common problem is lack of quality sleep, and it’s a problem we need to start addressing.
To feel fully rested and properly function, study shows that adults need at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep every night. However, according to survey and statistics made in 2017, a lot of people reported already feeling tired upon waking up. This can only mean one thing: They weren’t able to properly sleep.
And according to recent studies, insufficient sleep can negatively affect our lives and health in more ways than one.
One such effect is studied in a recent research, which revealed that overweight people who sleep a lot less lost less weight than their peers who get the proper amount of rest every night.
“The rise in obesity prevalence rates over the past decades parallels an epidemic of sleep disturbances,” said study lead author Prof. Jordi Salas-Salvadó and colleagues.
Their research, which is published in the International Journal of Obesity, analyzed the medical data of 1,986 individuals with a mean age of 65 years over the course of a year.
“[T]he findings of our study highlight the importance of sleep characteristics on weight and adiposity responses to lifestyle intervention programs in elders with metabolic syndrome,” the researchers conclude
Because of this, they encourage weight loss programs to include sleep as an important intervention.
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