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New study links poor night's sleep to overeating

Category: Heart Health and Cholesterol

Difficulty sleeping may lead to unhealthy cholesterol test results, as a new study has shown that individuals who lose sleep at night are more likely to overeat. Excessive calorie consumption could lead to obesity and heart disease.

For the study, researchers from the Mayo Clinic tracked the eating and sleeping habits of a group of 17 healthy young people over the course of eight nights. Half of this group was asked to restrict their normal sleep hours by a third.

The results showed that those who restricted their sleep time consumed on average 549 more calories per day. Furthermore, they had altered levels of two hormones known as ghrelin and leptin, both of which play roles in the regulation of appetite.

The researchers said that about 28 percent of adults experience sleep problems from time to time. This could represent a major problem if all of these people consume excessive amounts of food. The correlation between sleep problems and unhealthy eating habits may be a contributing factor to the obesity epidemic.

However, the team pointed out that the current study involved a small sample size and recommended that further investigations be conducted on the subject.