Too little sleep may be linked to the development of a large belly and broad
waist, a study of women in Sweden has found.
Short periods of deep sleep and dream sleep are also contribute to an
increased risk of obesity, according to the study carried out at Uppsala
University, the results of which are published in the May edition of the
scientific journal Sleep.
"This correlation between a short sleep span and obesity was particularly
strong among younger women," Jenny Theorell-Haglöw, the author of the study,
told local newspaper Upsala Nya Tidning.
The study compared women who get at least eight hours sleep a night with
those who sleep less. Some 400 women participated in a night-long sleep
test, while also undergoing a health examination and agreeing to have the
circumference of their waists measured. The study registered the duration of
sleep and the length of various stages of sleep.
The waist circumference of women who slept less the five hours a night was
found to be nine centimetres longer on average than for their counterparts
who slept eight hours a night.
Theorell-Haglöw said there were a number of possible explanations for the
connection between obesity and sleep.
"Short sleep duration, short dream sleep and short deep sleep disturb the
production of cortisol and growth hormones in a way that can contribute to
driving body weight upwards. Sleeping less also means more waking time when
it's possible to eat," she said.
The results from Uppsala tallied with earlier studies seeming to suggest
that lack of sleep could be a contributory factor to growing societal
problems with obesity.
"But further research is needed to answer the question as to whether there
is a causal relationship," said Theorell-Haglöw.
Source : www.thelocal.se
