Sleeping too little can contribute to overweight problems, say US scientists, whose conclusions are published by Science Daily. Their research suggests that people who sleep less than six hours consume more calories.
We checked whether sleep deprivation affects the levels of leptin and ghrelin (hormones that control appetite – editor’s note), the amount of food consumed and the burning of calories through physical activity, says the author of the study, Dr. Virend Somers, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic dealing with obesity treatment.
Sleep deprivation is a growing problem. 28 percent adults admit that their nighttime sleep does not exceed six hours, adds study co-author Dr. Andrew D. Calvin.
The observations were carried out in a group of 17 healthy young men and women, with half of the participants subtracted a third of their normal sleep time. However, no restrictions related to the amount of food consumed were applied during the research.
According to the researchers, people who slept one hour and twenty minutes less than the control group consumed an average of 549 calories more each day, with no significant differences in the level of physical activity observed.
Shorter sleep increased the level of leptin, a hormone produced in adipose tissue that reduces appetite, and also caused a decrease in ghrelin, which in turn increases the secretion of gastric juices and stimulates the appetite.
The scientists plan to verify their conclusions during wider research.