Considerable research points to a relationship between sleep duration and body-weight regulation in humans of both sexes. The likely mechanisms are sleep-specific metabolism of leptin, a hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including the regulation of appetite and metabolism, and ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite. Since we can control the number of hours that we sleep, these findings suggests that sleep may be one way to get a handle on obesity.
According to a new study conducted at Laval University in Quebec, Canada, there may be an optimal numbers of hours of nightly sleep at which body-weight regulation is facilitated. Researchers found that "short sleep duration (5-6 hours per night) predicts an increased risk of being overweight/obese in adults and is related to a reduced circulating leptin levels relative to what is predicted by fat mass."
"Because sleep duration is a potentially modifiable risk factor," they conclude, "these findings might have important clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of obesity."
Chaput JP, Despres JP, Bouchard C, Tremblay A.
Short Sleep Duration is Associated with Reduced Leptin Levels and Increased Adiposity: Results from the Quebec Family Study.
Division of Kinesiology (PEPS), Laval University, Ste-Foy, Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4. angelo.tremblay@kin.msp.ulaval.ca.