Sleep and Hunger

Background

Since 1980 the number people who are overweight has doubled and now more than 10% of the world's population is obese, with women being more affected than men. At the same time from the 1980's to now people are sleeping less and the quality of their sleep has become poorer. Many scientific studies are now showing that there is a strong link between decreased sleep and increased weight.

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When we sleep the body recovers and repairs itself. One of the ways it does this is that it controls the levels of important hormones in the body called ghrelin (also known as the "hunger hormone"), cortisol and leptin (the "anti-hunger hormone"). Poor sleep leads to an increases in cortisol and ghrelin, which makes us feel hungrier, and decreases leptin, which makes us feel less full or satisfied after eating.

In a review of the scientific evidence it was around 50 epidemiological studies done in different parts of the world have shown that poor sleep and obesity are linked both in adults and children. Most of the studies found sleeping under 6 hours per night increased obesity. 18 studies on over half a million adults showed that less than 5 hours sleep resulted in a 55% increased risk of developing obesity. In fact by sleeping every extra hour slept over 5 hours a an average person’s weight would be lower by 1 Kg.

Given the above scientists recommend that ‘sufficient amounts of habitual sleep and good sleep hygiene in subjects at risk of obesity.’ Dr Jean-Philippe Chaputa, from the University of Copehnagen, Denmark summarised it very well by saying: “Sleep is the ‘most sedentary activity’, yet may be the only one that protects from weight gain”.

What can you do?

Here are some simple tips from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine to help you sleep better sleep hygiene.
Read more from the National Library of Medicine on the Sleep and metabolism and Sleep and Obesity.
Our Family Doctors can help you find out if there are any underlying medical problems affecting your sleep.
To book an appointment please call 01222 04888. Lines open 7am-12am (midnight) Saturday to Thursday and 12pm-9pm Friday.

References

Sharma, Sunil, and Mani Kavuru. “Sleep and Metabolism: An Overview.” International Journal of Endocrinology 2010 (2010): 270832. PMC. Web. 14 Oct. 2018.
Beccuti, Guglielmo, and Silvana Pannain. “Sleep and Obesity.” Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care 14.4 (2011): 402–412. PMC. Web. 14 Oct. 2018.
Chaput JP, Klingenberg L, Sjodin A. Do all sedentary activities lead to weight gain: sleep does not. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2010;13:601–607. [PubMed]

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