Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Do you have sleep apnea? Lack of rest could be making you fat

nola.com ^ | 08/09/2016 | Molly Kimball 

There's no question that sleep is intricately tied to weight. How big a factor is it? Perpetual sleep deprivation can undermine weight loss efforts as significantly as adding a Big Mac to our regular daily diet.
Research is so strong for the case for sufficient sleep as a weight loss aid that as a nutritionist I look at sleep as the third element in the trifecta of factors that impact our weight, right alongside diet and exercise.
So it should be no surprise that sleep apnea – a condition where people stop breathing during sleep, as often as 30 times or more per hour – can negatively influence a person's weight.
...
We eat more when we're sleep deprived – studies show as many as 550 extra calories a day – likely because sleep influences levels of hormones that affect our feelings of hunger and fullness. We crave more carbs when we skimp on sleep, too.
Even when we cut back on calories, sleep deprivation can still make it harder to shed extra pounds. Researchers have found that, among study participants who have the same caloric deficit, those who are sleep deprived lose less body fat, and they actually lose more lean muscle mass.
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...

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