Obesity could be caused by deprivation of sleep which leads to a craving for unhealthy food.
According to a new study to understand the link between sleep restriction and obesity, the sight of unhealthy food during a period of sleep restriction activated reward centers in the brain that were less active when participants had enough sleep.
25 men and women of normal weight were divided into two groups where one group's sleep was restricted to four hours for five nights and the second group were allowed to continue sleeping upto nine hours.
MRIs of their brains were taken whilst they looked at images of healthy and unhealthy foods and the results were compared.
The sleep deprived group ate more overall and consumed more fat compared to those who had regular sleep.
The study's principal investigator noted that "The unhealthy food response was a neuronal pattern specific to restricted sleep. This may suggest greater propensity to succumb to unhealthy foods when one is sleep restricted."
This study confirms previous research that also showed that sleep deprivation leads to increased food consumption, particularly sweet and salty food in otherwise healthy people.
Showing posts with label sleep deprivation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sleep deprivation. Show all posts
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Tuesday, August 09, 2011
Weekend Sleep Does Not Makeup For Lost Sleep In The Week
Performance deteriorates when sleep is restricted to six hours per night for a week and does not improve after two nights of recovery sleep, however, women may be less affected than men by this workweek pattern of sleep loss.
According to principal investigator Dr. Alexandros N. Vgontzas, professor of psychiatry and endowed chair in sleep disorders medicine at the Penn State College of Medicine and director of the Sleep Research and Treatment Center at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, after one workweek of mild sleep deprivation, two recovery nights did not improve performance even though it did improve sleepiness.
The study also found significant gender differences. Compared with men, women were found to have less subjective sleepiness and less performance deterioration during sleep restriction, as well as greater improvements after recovery. These differences were associated with increased amounts of slow-wave sleep, or “deep sleep,” in women at baseline.
“In women, but not in men, deep sleep appeared to have a protective effect,” said Vgontzas. “Women with a higher amount of deep sleep can handle better the effects of one workweek of mild sleep deprivation, and their recovery is more complete after two nights of extended sleep.”
The study concluded that complete performance recovery after one workweek of mild sleep deprivation may require more than just two nights of extended sleep.
According to principal investigator Dr. Alexandros N. Vgontzas, professor of psychiatry and endowed chair in sleep disorders medicine at the Penn State College of Medicine and director of the Sleep Research and Treatment Center at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, after one workweek of mild sleep deprivation, two recovery nights did not improve performance even though it did improve sleepiness.
The study also found significant gender differences. Compared with men, women were found to have less subjective sleepiness and less performance deterioration during sleep restriction, as well as greater improvements after recovery. These differences were associated with increased amounts of slow-wave sleep, or “deep sleep,” in women at baseline.
“In women, but not in men, deep sleep appeared to have a protective effect,” said Vgontzas. “Women with a higher amount of deep sleep can handle better the effects of one workweek of mild sleep deprivation, and their recovery is more complete after two nights of extended sleep.”
The study concluded that complete performance recovery after one workweek of mild sleep deprivation may require more than just two nights of extended sleep.
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