Short Sleep Linked To Weight Gain, According To This Study

by | Oct 10, 2017 | Weight-Loss

You aren’t getting enough sleep and that may be a reason you’re seeing yourself gain weight and unable to shed the kilograms, according to a new study in the Journal of Nutrition.

Related: How Drinking Coffee Might Be Making You Fat

Decades of research already suggest a link between chronic sleep deprivation and an increased risk of weight gain, but this study investigated sleep duration and energy balance using objective measures of total energy intake and physical activity energy expenditure.

In the study, almost 230 participants self-reported sleep duration and researchers used doubly labelled water to determine energy intake and expenditure.

Related: How To Feel Great After a Bad Night of Sleep

Researchers found that short sleep, 6 or fewer hours, was associated with a higher risk of obesity, but the relationship was not linear. In comparison to those who slept 6 hours or less, those who slept 8 hours had a 67% lower risk of obesity and participants who slept longer, for at least 9 hours per night had a 50% lower odds.

Related: Hack Your Hormones To Gain Muscle & Have More Sex

Those who sleep longer, compared to short sleepers, tend to eat fewer kilojoules and expended less energy. Researchers found that participants who slept 9+ hours per night ate 782 fewer kilojoules and expended 476 fewer kilojoules than short sleepers.

Authors suggest longer sleep duration and better quality of sleep as one promising approach to weight management.

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