Sleeping Deprivation and Obesity

 

 

All of us know that we can not live without sleeping. Sleep deprivation decreases our concentration and lower performance in study or work. But is that only? Some research reports the relativeness between sleep deprivation and obesity. If we can reduce our weight healthy and efficiently, is it not attractive to us? 

・Purpose of the research
Although sleep is a restorative process that plays an important role in balancing psychological, emotional, and physical health, reduced sleep duration, and sleep quality are increasingly frequent in modern society. Also, obesity rates for adults have doubled, and rates for children have tripled in the past three decades(Bayon et al., 2014). 
Poor diet and reduced physical activity play a major role in the risk of weight gain and the obesity epidemic. Short sleep duration is associated with elevated body mass index (BMI) in many epidemiological studies(Bayon et al., 2014). This article reviews the epidemiological, biological, and behavioral evidence linking sleep debt and obesity(Bayon et al., 2014, p.264).

・Hypothesis
Using multimedia (e.g., television viewing, computer, and internet) may aggravate sedentary behavior. It leads to sleep deprivation, changes in levels of appetite-regulating hormones caused by decreased energy expenditure also increase caloric intakes at the same time(Bayon et al., 2014). In Addition, shift-work, long working hours, and increase caloric intake increased time commuting to and from work have also been hypothesized to favor weight gain and obesity-related metabolic disorders because of their strong link to shorter sleep times(Bayon et al., 2014, para.4). 

 

 

 

 

・methods
Using a random-digital-dialing telephone survey conducted by the state health departments in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories and researching the association between short sleep duration and obesity(Liu, 2013).
Question: “On average, how many hours of sleep do you get in a 24-h period? Think about the time you actually spend sleeping or napping, not just the amount of sleep you think you should get”(Liu, 2013, para.6)
As in all other CDC surveillance systems, participants' sleep duration answers were reported as whole numbers rounded to the nearest hour(Liu, 2013).

・Participants
54,269 respondents age 45 and older They responded to the question, “On average, how many hours of sleep do you get in a 24-h period? Think about the time you actually spend sleeping or napping, not just the amount of sleep you think you should get”(Liu, 2013, para.6). They must answer the survey for 5 years about their sleep time and body states such as weight or psychological states.

・Findings
Compared to respondents reporting the optimal 7-9 h, short sleepers reported a higher prevalence of obesity, FMD, CHD, stroke, and diabetes, and who reported less than 5 hours of sleep per night had an approximately 40% higher risk of developing obesity than did those who reported 7–8 hours of sleep(Bayon et al., 2014). Moreover, short sleepers reported psychological disorders such as depression at a high rate, not only obesity.

・Study’s limitations as well as any future applications
This study is limited because most of the literature examining the relationship between sleep and obesity is based on self-reported sleep assessments, even though epidemiological studies need reliable and valid sleep duration and obesity(Bayon et al., 2014). Therefore, we can not be sure about the aspect of accuracy and objectivity of the data.

 

 

 

 

These results indicate that sleep deprivation is related to obesity and other diseases such as CHD or mental disorders clearly. We must not downplay the sleeping time and quality for ourselves. Moreover, physicians or researchers need to gain their knowledge about this subject and monitor mental well-being and bodyweight problems with sleep health together(Liu, 2013). Some people regard reducing weight can be applied by eating nothing. But in my experience, eating nothing makes circadian rhythm messed up, and sleeping habits are also influenced. In the end, this issue cannot be considered separately from any other health behavior. Therefore, it might be more effective research if they added more aspects like eating and exercise routine. 

In conclusion, reducing weight subjects cannot be considered separately from any other health behavior, especially sleeping. I realized that if we want to reduce our weight healthy, we must start with taking sufficient time to sleep. Furthermore, sleep deprivation results in obesity, mental disorder, CHD, stroke, and diabetes. Therefore, sleeping is indispensable for our healthy living.

 

 

References

 

Bayon, V., Leger, D., Gomez-Merino, D., Vecchierini, M. F., & Chennaoui, M. (2014). Sleep debt and obesity. Annals of medicine, 46(5), 264-272. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/07853890.2014.931103

 

Liu, Y., Wheaton, A. G., Chapman, D. P., & Croft, J. B. (2013). Sleep duration and chronic diseases among US adults age 45 years and older: evidence from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Sleep, 36(10), 1421-1427. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/36/10/1421/2416757?login=true