Lack of sleep and weight gain are technically known as Insomnia and Obesity, respectively. Both these medical conditions are the major causes of death and illness in the United States. 1.1 million people suffer from lack of sleep and two-thirds of American are either overweight or obese. Research studies have long found a relationship between these two conditions. However, scientific explanations for the observations were very few.
Does Lack of Sleep Cause Weight Gain?
In April 2005, researchers from Yale School of Medicine reported about a possible link between lack of sleep and weight gain. The results of their findings were published in the journal, Cell Metabolism. The studies were carried out on experimental mice.
In the study, the hypothalamus region of the brain was found to posses a certain type of cells known as the hypocretin/orexin cells. These cells were found to be very sensitive to stress factors which easily excited them. As a result of the over-excitation of the cells, the mice remained alert or awake.
One of the important symptoms of sleeplessness is an increase in the stress levels in daily life. Owing to this reason, researchers of this study were of the opinion that reducing the stress factors in life could naturally benefit people suffering from insomnia and subsequent weight gain.
Lack of sleep makes us feel tired. In such a state, the level of a hormone called Ghrelin increases in the blood. Similarly, the level of another hormone called Leptin, decreases in the blood. The former hormone is responsible for hungers. The latter hormone makes us feel satiated with food intake.
A hormonal imbalance as mentioned above, makes us feel hungry at regular intervals and not satisfied easily with the food consumed. This results in excess intake of food leading to weight gain. These conclusions were drawn from a 1999 study carried out at the University of Chicago.
A strong experimental relationship between insomnia and obesity was observed in truck drivers in the United States. Their excess work pressure left them deprived of sleep and the sedentary nature of their work made them obese. As per statistics, 15 million truck drivers in America suffer from lack of sleep.
Alertness is the primary skill expected from the truck drivers at work. However, the study found that the risk of causing car accident was sevenfold in these people owing to sleep deprivation. The details of this study were published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
Similarly, another study done on young healthy adults found that lack of sleep quickly changed the metabolism in their developing bodies. In order to keep the blood sugar levels at normal, the body of these short sleepers had to produce 30 % more insulin. This in turn increased the risk of weight gain in these young people in later years.
The best way to deal with lack of sleep and subsequent weight gain for all age groups is following a regular exercise regime. Not only does regular physical activity lead to regulation of sleeping patterns, it also arrests the tendency of weight gain naturally. Especially women should remain fit as insomnia is 40 percent more common with them than in men.