You snooze; you lose.
The old wisecrack is getting some serious consideration from sleep researchers, who are increasingly finding that people who do not get enough sleep are at risk of being overweight. A new study from Northwestern University — this one focusing on kids — is the latest example.
The Northwestern sleep scientists found that children who do not get enough sleep are more like to carry extra than kids who get enough rest. The study followed more than 2,200 children over five years by employing highly detailed diaries.
Now there’s a Good Mood moment. Make it a point to get more sleep and drop pounds. Certainly fits into the "feel great while you lose weight" philosophy for the Good Mood Diet.
Lead researcher Emily Snell and colleagues Emma Adam and Greg Duncan calculated that an extra hour of sleep reduces the probability of being overweight from 36 percent to 30 percent in kids three to eight years old. For pre-teens between eight and 13, the extra hour of sleep reduces the probability of being overweight from 34 to 30 percent.
The children who got less sleep were more likely to have higher body mass index (BMI) measurements, even when factoring out race, ethnicity, family income and education levels.
If you are wondering, the sleep researchers recommend that ideal sleep times for kids five to 12 years old is 10 to 11 hours but found the typical seven-year-old in the study logged less than 10 hours per night on weekdays.
Snell offered no scientific explanation of why lack of sleep leads to gaining weight, but she was willing to offer some theories:
- Not getting enough sleep may affect hormones that influence appetite.
- Getting less sleep provides more opportunity for late-evening snacking, which are often sugary rather than nutritional. No doubt, Dr. Kleiner can fix that with a Good Mood hot cocoa!
- Lack of sleep causes a child or person to be more lethargic, discouraging exercise.
Of course, school bus schedules might demand that kids get up earlier than their bodies are naturally inclined, but parents can take better control of bedtimes. And while you are at it, do the same for yourself. The whole family will be in a better mood for it.