Submitted by Rebecca Crumb-Johnson,
NorthLakes Community Clinic
Did you know adequate sleep is needed for maintaining healthy bodies, minds, and emotions? Research shows that seven to nine hours of sleep a night is considered to be what is needed to support good health in adults. Yet most Americans don’t meet this standard.
Increasing work and social demands, the spread of artificial lighting, and the widespread use of computers and other electronics have reduced the average duration of sleep from 9 hours a night in 1910 to 7.5 hours in 1975, and less than 7 hours today. Lack of sleep due to social jet lag is increasing, and it is estimated that one-quarter of adults and a larger percentage of children and adolescents are deprived of sleep, as sleeping 5–6 hours a night during the week has increased.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) showed higher rates of obesity in adults who reported an average of less than 7 hours a night of sleep. Sleep loss has a negative impact on the process of thinking and learning, memory, and recall. Lack of sleep is associated with an increased risk of obesity, a poor cholesterol profile, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases, and even premature death. Disturbance of sleep is often linked to long-term unhealthy Western dietary habits. Even restricting sleep for only 5 days can lead to increased weight in both adults and children.
Some studies suggest that sleep plays a role in weight loss, specifically fat loss when calories are decreased. A large study followed two groups of women over 24 months. Each group had similar activity and food intake. The only difference was how long they slept, less than 7 hours or more than 7 hours. The study findings suggested that better sleep quantity and quality increased the likelihood of successful weight loss by 33%.
Changes in meal timing and sleep disorders both increase the risk of weight gain by changing what we choose to eat, in both increased calorie intake and the quality of the food we choose. It is connected to poor eating habits, including an increase in meals, snacks, and night-time eating, with the consumption of high-calorie foods, a lower intake of fruits and vegetables, and a higher intake of fast foods, sugar, and fats, resulting in higher calorie intake. An average increase of 200 to 500 calories per day eaten has been documented after sleep deprivation, compared to the number of calories eaten with normal sleep duration. To put this into perspective, eating an extra 100 calories per day that you do not need can result in a 10-pound weight gain per year.
Higher intakes of saturated fat (the kind that is solid at room temperature and mainly found in animal foods) and a lower intake of fiber were related to a lighter, less deep sleep, and that increased intake of both sugar and non-sugar carbohydrates was related to waking up more frequently at night. Reduced sleep duration not only provides increased snacking time but is also linked to higher carbohydrate intake and overall increased calorie intake which reduces the rate of weight loss.
The circadian rhythm is the 24-hour internal clock in our brain that controls our sleep cycles. This rhythm has a strong effect on how much our body makes ghrelin and leptin. These are two of the hormones that help regulate appetite and calorie intake. An increase in ghrelin increases hunger and an increase in leptin causes a feeling of fullness. Decreased sleep appears to increase ghrelin and decrease leptin leading to increased food intake.
In short, we need sleep to make better decisions about what and how much we eat and to help our bodies function well to maintain a healthy weight and overall health. To learn more about the connection between sleep and weight from the National Institute of Health visit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9031614/
Rebecca Crumb-Johnson is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator at NorthLakes Community Clinic. She works with patients both in-person and virtually to help them achieve their nutrition goals. To learn more, visit nlccwi.org.
