When I first heard about sleep’s effects on weight control, I thought, “Ah! Now it makes sense!” The “it” I was thinking of was the fact that so many of us gain weight after high school. Though we feel busier than ever with school, work, and family commitments, our metabolism and the positive effects from exercise seem to slow down.
Of course, there’s plenty of other reasons why we gain weight. One sad fact is that most of us do not keep up the level of physical activity we had while in school. We have different responsibilities once we’re adults and it seems like something has to give; oftentimes, that’s exercise and/or healthy eating.
As we get older and perhaps add a spouse and/or children to our lives, we have even less time. That’s where most people start to cut back on sleep. Staying up too late, getting up too early, always feeling tired and in need of caffeine or some sort of boost… it’s just a bad cycle to get into.
So when I heard that sleep, or rather lack of sleep, could be contributing to our nation’s obesity epidemic, it just made sense. I wasn’t sure how exactly, but there definitely seemed to be a natural connection in my mind.
As it turns out, those people who get less than four hours of sleep per night are 70% more likely to be obese than people who get seven to nine hours. This is a really good thing to keep in mind for anyone trying to get in shape or stay in shape! Get your sleep! Since we all want more sleep anyway, isn’t it nice to have a really good reason to get it?