Thedisturbance of circadian rhythms, especially in childhood, could favor the appearance ofoverweight. And conversely,obesity increases the risk of sleep disorders, such as insomnia, snoring or apnea. This is the conclusion reached by the members of the Center for Biomedical Research in Network-Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn) of Spain.
Studies aimed at seeking corrective and therapeutic measures have shown thata high proportion of obese children show a decrease in the hours of sleepEither by spending many hours in front of the television, computer or game console or by presenting some type of disorder, such as apnea, insomnia, snoring or sleepwalking. The latest research “has shown thatgetting an extra hour of sleep at night would help control childhood obesity, maintaining a lower body mass index and being less exposed to obesity the following five years. “In addition, it has also been found that” just one hour more would reduce the possibility of children being overweight by up to 36% “, points out the Dr. Empar Lurbe, researcher of the consortium network specialized in pediatric nephrology.
On the other hand, according to a recent study by Stanford University (USA),people who sleep less than 5 hours, compared to those who sleep 8, produce higher levels of ghrelin and decrease in leptin. The most important consequence of these neuroendocrine alterations is theincreased appetite, especially by hypercaloric foods and rich in carbohydrates, totrying to replace energy that was not recovered due to lack of restful sleep. And this ends up causing overeating and, ultimately, weight gain.
In view of these data, the CIBERobn confirms that people tend to eat more when they do not sleep well, apart from the fact that sleep disorders interfere with the metabolism control mechanisms that regulate appetite and levels of physical activity. Therefore, the lack of sleep or its poor quality leads to a substantial decrease in metabolic rate and a fall in the degrees of physical exercise, which affects the accumulation of fat.
