A new study suggests that getting one hour of extra sleep per night, will help you lose some extra pounds, and keep them off.
You have probably heard of lack of sleep being linked to obesity, but it has rarely been looked at the other way. A team of researchers from King's College London set out to find out if this could be true.
In the study, the researchers looked at the impact of increasing sleep hours on nutrient intake, and the results they found were kind of shocking, and very exciting for those of use who love sleep.
They had 21 participants, who normally didn't get the right amount of sleep, take part in the study. They had these participants attempt to increase their sleep by 90 minutes each night, to see the results the extra sleep gave them.
The participants were given a list of things to do to help them increase sleep time. This was things such as, less caffeine and a change in routine.
Throughout the study, participants were also asked to wear a motion sensor, to detect their habits, as well as a keep a food diary of everything they ate.
Results showed that 86% of those who had received sleep advice increased their time in bed, with 50% of them actually increasing their sleep duration.
When researchers examined any changed habits with the participants who were sleeping for an extra hour, they found the results they were looking for.
Dr Haya Al Khatibi, lead author of the study, said, "Our results suggest that increasing time in bed for an hour or so longer may lead to healthier food choices."
These are the results they found.
The participants that were sleeping for an extra hour each night ate an average of 176 fewer calories a day than usual. Those who slept more cut ten grams of sugar from their diets every day. The also reduced their daily carbs by 22 grams.
This was a small test study with a small number of participants, throughout a short amount of time. Once completing this study and finding the results they were looking for, the researchers are hoping to further investigate these findings further in a long-term and larger study.
Throughout the long-term study, they hope to examine nutrient intake and continued adherence to sleep extension behaviors in more detail, especially in populations at risk of obesity or cardio-vascular disease.
This study is great news because it not only means that we should sleep an extra hour each night but doing so will actually help us lose weight. So, if you're not getting the right amount of sleep each night, try to increase it by an hour.
It may not seem like a big deal, but with the extra hour you could be on the road to weight loss without even noticing.