- Sleep-deprived adults favour bigger portions and more calorie-dense food
- They are also more impulsive with their food choices and enjoy it more
- Lack of sleep also impacts our appetite and our response to physical activity
- Insomnia may even affect our gut bacteria, which plays a role in metabolism
- Researchers are assessing if sleep can restore metabolism in insomnia sufferers
Alexandra Thompson Health Reporter For Mailonline
1
View
comments
Insomnia increases the risk of obesity by affecting our metabolism, according to new research.
Disrupted sleep patterns can also cause us to pile on the pounds by impacting our appetite and exercise response, a study found.
Nights spent tossing and turning may even have an impact on our gut bacteria, which has a known role in metabolism, the research adds.
Study author Dr Christian Benedict, associate professor of neuroscience at Uppsala University, Sweden, said: ‘Since perturbed sleep is such a common feature of modern life, these studies show it is no surprise that metabolic disorders, such as obesity are also on the rise.
‘It may be concluded that improving sleep could be a promising lifestyle intervention to reduce the risk of future weight gain.’
Insomnia increases the risk of obesity by affecting our metabolism and appetitie
Want to hang on to your youthful looks? Cutting calories by…
Woman, 34, who passed out as she drove at 70mph has a…
Easier language tests for foreign nurses may be introduced…
A glass of red is NOT good for the heart: Scientists debunk…
IS INSOMNIA PSYCHOLOGICAL?
Insomnia sufferers who take placebo pills feel more rested than those who get no treatment at all, according to a review of 13 studies by the University of Sydney.
The simple act of taking a pill may ease the anxiety that makes it harder for some insomnia sufferers to fall asleep, the researchers said.
The scientists examined data from 13 studies with a total of 566 insomnia sufferers who were assigned to either receive a placebo that they believed was an active treatment or no pills at all.
Placebo patients reported greater improvements in their ability to fall asleep, the total amount of rest they got and their sleep quality, according to the results, published in Sleep Medicine.
Comparing placebo against recognised insomnia therapies can give inaccurate results as simply believing you are receiving a sleep-inducing treatment can ease the condition, the researchers said.
Study author Dr. Ben Colagiuri, said: ‘The comparison with no treatment means that we can be sure that the improvement we observed was due to a genuine placebo effect, rather than being an artifact of simply taking part in a trial,’ Reuters reported.
Researchers from Uppsala University, Sweden, conducted a number of studies to investigate how sleep loss affects metabolism.
They analysed human response to food after sleep deprivation.
Results revealed sleep-deprived but otherwise healthy people prefer large portions, seek more calories, are more impulsive with food, get more pleasure from eating and burn less energy.
The researchers also found sleep loss shifts the balance of hormones from those that promote fullness to those that cause hunger.
A lack of shut eye also increases levels of particular receptors, known as endocannabinoids, which enhance our appetite.
The findings, presented at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Lisbon, also revealed sleep loss reduces insulin sensitivity and alters our gut bacteria balance, which is associated with metabolism.
Study author Dr Christian Benedict, said: ‘Since perturbed sleep is such a common feature of modern life, these studies show it is no surprise that metabolic disorders, such as obesity are also on the rise.
‘My studies suggest that sleep loss favours weight gain in humans.
‘It may also be concluded that improving sleep could be a promising lifestyle intervention to reduce the risk of future weight gain.’
The researchers are investigating whether extending sleep in insomnia sufferers can restore alterations in appetite and metabolism.
This comes after a UK survey found ‘insomnia’ is the most searched for symptom in so-called ‘Dr Google’.
The condition racks up an average of 74,000 searches into the site each month.
Diarrhoea is the second most commonly searched symptom, amassing a total of 49,500 Googles a month. Sore throats has 40,500 monthly searches.
Share or comment on this article
- Girl aged EIGHT is named as second victim of ISIS attack…
- ‘I drove through the night to get here’: Father’s…
- ‘Beautiful little girl’, 8, named as youngest Manchester…
- ISIS supporters celebrate terror attack as Twitter…
- ‘People’s skin and blood were everywhere… I’m still…
- Manchester on a knife-edge: Screaming shoppers flee as…
- Swat team: Melania slaps at President Trump when he tries…
- Boston journalist sparks furious backlash by posting vile…
- Horrifying videos show the pandemonium inside Manchester…
- ‘The sexiest thing in the world is being really smart’:…
- Moment armed police swoop to arrest man, 23, in south…
- BREAKING NEWS: Passengers are hauled off Virgin flight…
- Now THAT’S a sparkler: Russian oligarch’s 27-year-old…
- Trump becomes the first sitting American president to…
- Four years to the day since the Lee Rigby attack:…
- Moment busker, 49, was frogmarched to his death by…
- ‘Hatred won’t win!’: Comedian Jason Manford breaks down…
- ‘Get her a cuppa, a hug and a knighthood. #hero’: Woman…
Comments 1
Share what you think
-
Newest -
Oldest -
Best rated -
Worst rated
The comments below have not been moderated.
The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Close
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual.
Close
Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual
We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook.
You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.