Posted on 05/17/2009 9:18:44 AM PDT by Schnucki
A good night's sleep may help you lose weight, a study has suggested.
The study of US nurses found those who slept longest were slimmer than those who managed the least shut-eye.
Scientists say lack of sleep affects hormone levels that can trigger hunger and slow down your metabolism.
Sleep specialist Dr Arn Eliasson said BMI (body mass index) is linked to length and quality of sleep in a surprisingly consistent fashion.
Dr Eliasson, of the Integrative Cardiac Health Project at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre, Washington DC, said: "When we analysed our data by splitting our subjects into 'short sleepers' and 'long sleepers', we found that short sleepers tended to have a higher BMI (28.3) compared to long sleepers, who had an average BMI of 24.5.
"Short sleepers also had lower sleep efficiency, experienced as greater difficulty getting to sleep and staying asleep."
Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or more.
BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of height in metres.
Previous US government research has shown people who sleep less than seven to nine hours a night are up to 75 per cent more likely to be obese.
Dr Eliasson, who presented his findings to the American Thoracic Society International Conference in San Diego, said: "We found so many interesting links in our data.
"It opens up a number of possibilities for future investigation.
"Primarily, we want to know what is driving the weight differences, and why sleep and weight appear to be connected."
He believes getting less sleep may disrupt natural hormonal balances - for example, reducing the amount of leptin, otherwise known as the satiety hormone - and could thereby cause those individuals to eat more.
Stress may also play a role in both reducing
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
This is just common sense: the longer you are asleep, the less time for you to stuff your face.
Fat people have sleep apnea more often, therefore, less sleep. Mystery solved.
Muscle weighs more than fat.
I’ve got sleep apnea but have always had a pretty lean physique.
I’m addicted to chocolate. If there is any near my bed I will eat it in my sleep.
This has been a known for a long time. A good night’s sleep is more important than any number of calorie cutting measures.
Well. I can’t eat when I’m sleeping. ;-)
Let's not overlook the obvious--people who are awake longer have a chance to eat and drink more. Late night snacks, alcohol, whatever. .
BMI is pounds times 4.88 divided by the square of someone’s height. This is seriously flawed because it should be based on the cube of someone’s height, or at least more than the square. Body size has 3 dimensions, not two. If you have a cube that is one foot on all sides and weighs one unit, doubling the dimensions would increase the weight to 2 to the third power, not second power. BMI produces odd results for especially tall or short people.
So one pound of muscle weighs more than one pound of fat?
Or is it “muscle is denser than fat”?
No, it means when someone is laying around, they are losing muscle more than the fat they need to lose.
The goal of losing weight is wrong. The goal should be to lose as much fat as possible. If you exercise, you gain the heavy muscle and some people get upset that no matter how much they exercise, they can’t lose weight because they are gaining muscle.
Don’t worry about what the scale reads. Look at what you look like in the mirror. You might gain weight but your size may decrease.
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