Zzzzz!

March 26th, 2022| Topic: RaMbLeS | 0

Yup, that’s all you need to do. Get some zzzzz’s and you lose weight! Dozing to be fit. My kinda health strategy!

Anyway, what I’d suspected to be true all along has now formally be proven by scientists at The University of Chicago and University of Wisconsin–Madison in “Effect of Sleep Extension on Objectively Assessed Energy Intake Among Adults With Overweight in Real-life Settings: A Randomized Clinical Trial,” published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association: Internal Medicine earlier this year.

80 adults with obesity, ages 21 to 40, were recruited. All habitually slept fewer than 6½ hours a night. They slept in their own beds and tracked their sleep with wearable devices. Besides, they also kept their normal routines and weren’t advised to change their diet or exercise habits. Some were randomly chosen to increase their sleep to 8½ hours. And, lo and behold, getting more sleep each night facilitated weight loss. Those who increased their sleep at least by an hour reduced their caloric intake by an average of 270 kilocalories (kcal) a day!

In this randomized clinical trial of 80 adults with overweight and habitual sleep less than 6.5 hours per night, those randomized to a 2-week sleep extension intervention significantly reduced their daily energy intake by approximately 270 kcal compared with the control group. Total energy expenditure did not significantly differ between the sleep extension and control groups, resulting in a negative energy balance with sleep extension.”

According to researchers, this could translate to a loss of 26.5 pounds over 3 years. Earlier work had found that less sleep causes one to eat more and gain weight over time. So this one makes sense: sleep more and lose weight!

Said Dr. Estra Tasali, director of the UChicago Sleep Center and first author on the study:

Our findings suggest that getting sufficient sleep could be a game changer in our battle with [the] obesity epidemic as a society.”

One expert, Ryan Fiorenzi, a certified sleep coach, said there could be many explanations for this finding:

Research has shown that sleep deprivation can increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol and decrease levels of the hormone leptin, which controls appetite, in the body. When the body doesn’t get the signals it’s used to receiving in its typical sleep-wake cycle, it can try to compensate in other ways and seek out high calorie foods. Furthermore, sleep can affect circadian rhythm factors and impact when people eat. It is becoming increasingly clear that good sleep is critical to health and well-being—including weight loss. And, that poor sleep is a significant risk factor for weight gain and metabolic disorders.”

The Bible was right. We need more sleep!

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Proverbs 3:24

In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, Yahweh, make me to dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8

The fear of the Yahweh leads to life,
So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.
Proverbs 19:23

Besides, God, our keeper, does not sleep, having no need to lose any weight.

My help comes from the Yahweh, Who made heaven and earth.
He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.
Psalm 121:2–4

And he will sustain us, too.

I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustains me.
Psalm 3:5

Alright, time to go back to bed!

SOURCE:
American Journal of Preventive Nutrition; Healthline