Want to Stay or Get Thin After 30? Sleep the Right Amount

We've read a lot recently about rest and heart disease and I thought to put this info out there about the relationship between rest and weight loss. I got this information from an amazing trainer in NYC; Kim Williams, who gets actors' bodies camera- ready for soaps and prime time television scenes that involve scanty clothing. Need I say more to tell you how much I believe what this woman says about exercise physiology?!!!!

This is what she has to say on the issue:

"Many of my clients ask whether it is better to go to the gym or to sleep. I'm sure you will be quite surprised to hear that the answer is: SLEEP!

According to the Tufts University Letter, dated February, 2007, there is mounting evidence from a number of studies demonstrating that a lack of sleep equates to greater risk of disease and added pounds! According to a study following more than 68,000 American women for a period of 16 years, those who managed to get adequate sleep (about 7-8 hours), gained less weight during middle age.

It seems, in a study of women who got only 5 hours of sleep nightly, that they were 1/3 more likely to have weight gain than those who slept 7 hours. Activity levels didn't seem to play a role and weight gain by an amount as small as 10 lbs. has been shown to double a person's risk of diabetes.

Inadequate sleep results in higher circulating blood glucose levels due to increased glucose production by the liver. Impaired sleep also affects your body's ability to use the glucose it makes!

Sleep duration of six hours or less or nine hours or more is associated with increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), according to the results of a cross-sectional study published in the April 25(2005) issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. These findings were presented at the 2006 American Thoracic Society International Conference in San Diego and published in the American Journal of Epidemiology and demonstrate that a lack of sleep equals weight gain.

The possible cuprits could be that a lack of sleep alters hormones involved in appetite control and metabolism (namely leptin and ghrelin). Grehlin is produced in the GI tract and increases appetite when levels rise and leptin levels decrease (produced in fat cells and signals the brain when you are full) in response to a lack of sleep. Due to these hormones, as well as other factors, women who slept less in the study also ate less.

Contrary to popular belief that sleeping less means that you 'do more' and burn more calories (ie. lose more weight), subjects in the study who got only 5 hours of sleep did not lose weight!

In conclusion, you might think that more sleep will aid weight loss. Wrong! Research has found that subjects who have slept 9 or more have higher body weights and body fat than their 7-8 hour sleeping counterparts.

So, in conclusion, SLEEP! Target 7-8 hours of sleep and keep your bed and waking time consistent so that getting enough sleep for good health becomes a habit."

Now I know this is a tough one to manage with kids and or demanding work schedules, but aiming for something close to this helps.

Doing less can be more.

For more information, you can email Kim at: [e-mail]

Comments

[LumberingOaf]

Of course, 50% of all statistics are made up.