How Zzzzz can equal BMI

The night before a big test, my mom always made sure I went to bed early. What she knew, and what everyone knows, is that kids need a good amount of sleep to function the next day. What recent studies are showing is that sleep may also affect other areas of health, such as weight loss and gain.
In a study led by Chantelle N. Hart, PhD of the Psychiatry and Human Behavior department at Alpert Medical School of Brown University, the sleep and eating patterns of 37 children between  ages eight and eleven were observed over a period of three weeks.
For the study, the children's natural sleep patterns were recorded first. During the second week, their sleep time was randomly shifted by 1.5 hours ( more or less) every night, and in the third week, their sleep time was shifted in the other direction.
Researchers compared each child's outcomes only with his or her own previous health history. They found that the children were eating less food ( by about 134 fewer calories) during the week they got more sleep. During the week when they got less sleep, most of the extra calories the children consumed were eaten during the time they would have been asleep ( during the other week). On average, the children weighed less (by an average of 0.5 pounds) at the end of the week in which they had gotten more sleep.

To read the full breakdown of this study, visit Daily RX, When Kids Sleep Less, They May Eat More, http://www.dailyrx.com/sleep-time-kids-may-influence-their-calorie-intake-and-their-weight

And, for other similar articles on the many benefits of catching some Zzzz, visit our website at www.diabetesdigest.com.


Rebecca