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You may remember a study I posted last week that linked sleep deprivation with a higher risk of obesity. Two new studies released yesterday hammer home that same link.
In one study that measured hormone levels, those who slept just four hours a night for two nights reduced the amount of leptin in their bodies by 18 percent and increased ghrelin levels by 28 percent. The young men who participated in the study and slept less usually ate more sweet and starchy foods, which include some of the worst things you could eat, and must avoid to optimize your health.
The less people sleep, the more they weighed, according to a second study of 1,000 patients. researchers in the second study also found lower leptin levels and higher ghrelin levels in people who slept less. Patients who consistently slept five hours or less per night had on average about 15 percent more ghrelin and 15.5 percent lower leptin levels than those who slept eight hours a night.
If you want to know more about leptin and the effect it can have on your health, I strongly urge you to read my extensive two-part interview with Dr. Ron Rosedale.
Yahoo News December 6, 2004