Trouble sleeping? Watch out for weight gain, say researchers

People who have trouble sleeping may be more prone to gaining weight, according to a new American study.

The study found that whether a person has too little, or too much, sleep, could influence their chances of becoming overweight. It examined the eating habits of black and Hispanic men: two understudied groups when it comes to weight gain, and yet two groups that face a high risk of becoming obese.

Monitoring their sleeping patterns, the study found that those who had less than five hours of sleep a night had a 32% gain in “deep” fat that lies beneath the surface of the skin and can cause major health problems.

Meanwhile among those who stayed in bed for the recommended eight hours per night, or more, the increase was lower at 22%. And those who got an average amount of sleep (six to seven hours) were the least likely to experience weight gain, with 13% gaining deep fat levels.

A similar pattern was found in terms of the subject’s abdominal or surface level, fat. This held true even when factors other than factors other than sleeping pattern were taken into account. These included calorie intake, exercise habits, education and smoking.

The results do not mean that weight gain is directly caused by people having too much, or too little sleep. However, it does indicate that the factors are linked.

Reasons for the link

There are several reasons why this may be the case. A lack of sleep may cause a person to be tired throughout the day; in turn they may be less active. Their tiredness may also make them crave extra foods for energy, leading to overeating. On the other hand, sleeping too much may mean less time to be active during the day.

Depression, which can cause sleeping problems, may have been a reason for weight gain. Another survey that was published in this month’s edition of the journal Archives of General Psychiatry has linked obesity and weight gain, in what seems to be a ‘viscous circle’.