Sleep linked with hunger
24/01/2012
A new study has found that a person's appetite can be enhanced if they haven’t had enough sleep, which establishes a possible link between poor sleep and obesity.
Researchers at the Department of Neuroscience at Uppsala University in Sweden discovered the link by giving 12 men MRI scans to observe the brain when the men look at pictures of food.
The researchers found that there was more activity in the appetite centre of the brain when they were sleep deprived than when they had a normal night's sleep.
Rest is often underappreciated in a modern society where routine and habit can be difficult to put into action. That being said, spending enough time tucked up in bed should be something you do regardless of your working/playing schedule. There are several myths about sleep that lead people to break habits and abuse the importance of sleep in a daily routine.
According to the National Institute of Health, many people believe just one hour less sleep per night doesn't affect how they function throughout the day. Unfortunately, this is way off the mark. Even slightly less sleep can compromise cardiovascular health, which will affect the ability to respond adequately and maintain energy levels. It can also affect hunger patterns, as shown by recent results from Sweden.
It is also commonly believed that your body adjusts quickly to different sleep schedules. The false nature of this statement can be compared to long-distance jetlag. Many people take weeks to recover from the time difference, and adjusting sleep patterns by just one to two hours can have similar affects at home.
Oversleeping can be as detrimental to health patterns as under sleeping, as it is more important to have quality sleep rather than a large quantity of sleep. Disjointed sleep that spans for over eight hours is worse than consistent sleep that lasts for less than eight hours.
Dr William Kohler, director of the Florida Sleep Institute in Spring Hill, Florida, commented in Daily RX: "Sleep is very important in homeostasis and energy balance, and lack of sleep adjusts the hormonal excretions in our body."
Posted by Elizabeth Mewes
