Despite dozens of different diets—from low-carb and low-fat to “Stone Age” Paleo diets and plain dinner-canceling—the incidence of obesity is rising around the world. It has been known for years that less sleep is more likely to lead to weight gain. American scientists have now proved in a practical experiment: 1.2 hours more sleep resulted in test subjects consuming 270 kcal less energy per day.
“There is well-established evidence that regularly sleeping less than seven hours a night is associated with negative health effects. In particular, it is increasingly recognized that insufficient sleep is a significant risk factor for obesity. (.. .) On the other hand, it is still unclear whether increasing sleep duration can be an effective strategy for obesity prevention or weight loss,” says the University of Chicago Department of Public Health in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Internal Medicine). Write Esra Tasli and co-authors. The study is currently one of the most widely read current scientific studies by doctors in the United States.
Epidemiological observation is one thing, experimental evidence is something else entirely: Between the beginning of November 2014 and the end of October 2020, scientists conducted a study with 80 test individuals. 41 of them were men. All participants were overweight, with a body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 29.9. A BMI over 30 is considered obese. The participants, average age 29.8 years, typically slept less than 6.5 hours per night.
In clinical studies, half of the group (selected at random) were encouraged to sleep as much as 8.5 hours a night through counseling and sleep hygiene measures. Weight, energy intake, energy consumption, etc. were carefully monitored using technical means. The same was true for sleep duration. After a two-week start-up phase with no intervention, the actual study then went on for two weeks. The subjects remained at home and started living their normal life as usual.
The evaluation showed a potentially highly significant effect for obesity avoidance and weight loss. Scientist: “The group with more sleep showed a significant reduction in energy intake (reduced 270 kcal per day) compared to the control group. This ‘treatment’ had no significant effect on energy expenditure (…). Improvement or prolongation Ensuring a healthy sleep pattern for the duration may be part of obesity prevention and weight loss programs.”
Apparently more sleep curbs appetite, as diets were avoided in the study. Even small regular changes in caloric intake (even in calorie consumption) have significant long-term effects on body weight. The authors of the study cite scientific observations, according to which a hundred kcal more energy intake per day leads to a weight gain of 4.5 kg within three years.
Short-term experiments in the laboratory had already given similar indications about the effect of more sleep on the energy intake of test subjects. “As far as we know, this study is the first to provide evidence of a positive effect of increasing sleep duration to a healthy range on objectively measured energy intake and body weight in test subjects in their normal living environment. Is.” The recent study states that DAYS appeared to be firmly in check.
A few years ago, statistics were swirling, according to which Austrians, with about 3,800 kilocalories per day, are at the international forefront of energy intake. With only light physical activity, energy consumption is considered to be between 2,000 and 2,400 kilocalories for women and men. A low energy intake of 270 kilocalories per day through more sleep would in itself be a significant limitation without a diet. “Adiyu, diet” can also be a motto for losing weight in the future.
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