Low-Tech Slim-Down Strategies

I need more sleep then!

Catch those z’s

Getting more sleep doesn’t just help the bags under your eyes, it may reduce the saddlebags around your hips, too. Research presented in October at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity conference suggested that there’s a correlation between short sleep time (five to six hours) and being overweight.

The Quebec Family Study tracked 740 men and women for several decades, monitoring their nightly sleep, body fat and blood levels. Those who reported sleeping just five to six hours had lower than predicted levels of leptin, a hormone involved in weight management, than normal sleepers (six to eight hours). “Leptin decreases energy intake and increases energy expenditure,” explains Angelo Tremblay, professor at Laval University in Quebec. This means we eat less and burn more. Lower levels of leptin could cause the opposite effect (eating more and burning less), leading to weight gain.

These findings are consistent with a study out of Chicago that found the same results with leptin. That study also found that sleep deprivation causes an increase of the hormone ghrelin, which produces cravings.

We all know that our body shapes reflect what we eat—and how much we exercise. Are we also defined by our sleep habits? Tremblay offers a qualified yes: “It seems to be important for everyone to get enough sleep in order to regulate hormones that are important to energy balance.”