Skipping sleep may pack on pounds faster than you think, new study finds

Key Points:

• A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that adults who slept about 90 minutes less each night for six weeks gained roughly one pound on average compared to periods of adequate sleep.
• Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center studied 95 adults at risk for heart or metabolic disease, noting increased weight and waist circumference during the sleep-restricted phase without significant changes in body fat or muscle mass.
• Participants spent more time sitting during sleep restriction, though their moderate and vigorous exercise levels remained unchanged, and the study did not track food intake, leaving the cause of weight gain unclear.
• Dr. Somi Javaid emphasized sleep’s critical role in metabolism regulation, particularly for menopausal women, and highlighted that the American Heart Association now includes sleep as one of its "Life's Essential 8" for heart health.
• Researchers acknowledged limitations such as the study's short duration, small sample size, and limited hormone measurement timing, which may have affected the detection of longer-term body composition changes.