Sleep extension in adults who are overweight with habitual inadequate sleep
Sleep hygiene might be an important part of weight management plans. Habitually sleeping (7 hours nightly is associated with adverse health consequences, including risk for obesity. Researchers studied the effects of sleep extension on 80 overweight young adults (ages 21–40) who had been sleeping less than 6.5 hours per night for six months. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
After two weeks of baseline habitual sleep, participants were randomised to either a 2-week sleep extension or 2-week continued habitual sleep. Participants randomised to the sleep-extension group received individualised sleep hygiene counselling sessions intended to increase sleep duration to 8.5 hours; participants in the control group continued their usual sleep patterns.
None of the participants used medications that affected sleep. Compared with the control group, the sleep-extension group had a significant increase in mean nightly sleep duration, a significant decrease in energy intake (by 270 kcal/day), similar energy expenditure, and a significant reduction in weight (by 0.9 kg).
Although the mechanisms are unknown, sleep extension in overweight adults reduces energy intake and weight loss, at least in the short term.
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