Sleep deprivation can lead directly to obesity. Most people aren’t aware of this fact, but considering more than 1/3 of Americans and more than half in some areas are obese, it is a worsening epidemic. Through time and a number of different factors, many people have begun to sleep less in direct coincidence with the rise of obesity.
At this point, our average sleep time has decreased by at least a quarter as compared to our predecessors. Apparently in 1900, the average sleep time was 9 hours. In the past 10 years, the average sleep time has decreased to less than 7 hours. And in 2001, research showed that less than 6 hours sleep per night as well as staying up past midnight could significantly contribute to obesity. However, in 2002, a study of 1.1 million individuals showed that when individuals slept less than 7 or 8 hours, obesity rose significantly. The studies only continued, citing one in 2004 in Wisconsin, a 2005 study in Virginia, and various others, all showing the same thing, less sleep means more obesity.
Since 1992, there have been more than 13 different studies of more than 45,000 children and more studies on adults that have supported the relationship between sleep and obesity. Children also suffer a higher risk of obesity when they get less sleep. A 2005 study in the British Medical Journal suggested that sleep patterns at the age of just 30 months could predict the obesity rate at 7 years of age.
And why does this have such an impact? Apparently, with healthy amounts of sleep, the hypothalamus is stimulated in a positive way. Whereas, when you lack sleep, the hypothalamus is activated to increase appetite and decrease the natural expenditure of energy. A study by Spiegel in 1999 also suggested that restricting sleep reduced glucose tolerance and increased weight gain and hypertension by also decreasing metabolism. However, the effects could be reversed with a return to normal sleep patterns. So in short, to decrease your risk of obesity and gain a natural appetite suppressant and metabolic booster, just get 8 to 9 hours of sleep on a regular basis.
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