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Skipping sleep may pack on pounds faster than you think, new study finds
New York Post • • health
Key Points:
- A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that adults who slept about 90 minutes less per 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 weight gain and slightly larger waistlines after sleep restriction, despite unchanged exercise levels.
- The study did not find significant changes in body fat or muscle mass and did not track participants' food intake, leaving the cause of weight gain unclear.
- Experts highlight the importance of sleep in regulating metabolism, especially for women during menopause, and emphasize that chronic short sleep should be treated as a vital health sign.
- Researchers acknowledged limitations such as the study's short duration, small sample size, and limited hormone measurement timing, which may affect the findings' generalizability.
