A new study confirmed that sleep loss can contribute to weight gain by not only by boosting hunger but also slowing down the burning of calories.
The research led by Christian Benedict of the Uppsala University in Sweden was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The finding indicated that sleep deprivation appears to put a drag on metabolism, causing the body to use less energy. Having enough sleep might slow down weight gain, it said.
Approximately 50 to 70 million Americans experience from chronic sleep loss and sleep disorders, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Previous studies have linked sleep deprivation with weight gain, and shown how disrupted sleep also disrupts levels of stress- and hunger-related hormones during waking hours.
To determine the factors lack of sleep might contribute to weight gain, Benedict and his team had 14 male university students through a series of sleep conditions — curtailed sleep, no sleep, and normal sleep -- for several days before measuring the changes in the amount of food intake, blood sugar level, hormone level, and metabolic rate indicators.
The team found that even a single night of missed sleep slowed the volunteers' metabolisms the next morning, reducing their bodies' energy expenditure for tasks like breathing and digestion by 5 to 20 percent, compared with the morning after a good night's sleep.
In addition, the volunteers also had high level of blood sugar, and appetite-regulating hormones after sleep loss the morning after. However, sleep deprivation did not increase the amount of food they participants ate during the day.
The National Sleep Foundation recommended that adults should have seven to nine hours of sleep every night. For those who are unable to get the recommended number of sleep hours and are worried about gaining weight, Benedict suggests they commit to a daily mealtime to prevent them from gaining weight. (From news reports)
(관련 기사)
잠 설치면 살찐다
잠이 부족하면 살이 찌는 이유가 밝혀졌다. 스웨덴 웁살라 대학의 크리스티안 베네딕트(Christian Benedict) 박사는 수면이 부족하면 대사활동이 둔화하면서 에너지를 덜 쓰게 됨으로써 체중이 늘어난다는 사실이 밝혀졌다고 말했다.
연구결과는 미국의 “임상영양학 저널(Journal of Clinical Nut rition)” 최신호에 실렸다.
베네딕트 박사는 남자 대학생 14명을 대상으로 잠을 전혀 못 자게 하거나 수면 시간을 줄이거나 정상적인 수면을 취하게 하는 일련의 실험을 하면서 혈당, 호르몬, 대사율, 식사량 변화를 측정한 결과 하룻밤만 자지 못해도 다음날 아침 호흡, 소화 등에 의한 에너지 소모가 정상적인 수면을 취한 경우보다 5-20% 감소하는 것으로 나 타났다고 밝혔다.
잠을 못 잔 다음 날은 또 공복혈당이 올라가고 식욕촉진호르몬 그렐린과 스트레 스 호르몬 코티솔이 증가했다. 그러나 그날 하루 식사량은 늘지 않았다.
이는 수면부족이 체중증가로 이어지는 것은 단순히 배고픔을 촉진하는 것 때문이 아니라 칼로리 연소율을 둔화시키기 때문이라는 사실을 보여주는 것이다.
