Lack of sleep exposes us to various harmful effects on the body, including excess weight. Maria Korneeva/Getty Images
On average, we sleep less than seven hours a week. Lack of sleep exposes us to various harmful effects on the body, including excess weight. Is a simple, short night enough to be affected? Two doctors respond.
Over the course of 50 years, we’ve lost one to one and a half hours of sleep. This was revealed in March 2019 by the Public Health France barometer published in their weekly epidemiological bulletin (1). In general, the French sleep less than seven hours a day (6 hours 34 minutes per week during the working period). The problem is, we know that lack of sleep wreaks havoc on the body and has harmful effects on health, especially increasing the risk of hypertension, type 2 diabetes and obesity. If the link between bad nights and excess weight has already been proven, when does it show up on the scale? Just one short night is enough. Two specialists answer us.
Effect on hormones
Lack of sleep is one of the causes of obesity in children and adults. Under the question mark? Hormonal change. The mechanism is simple. “The body produces leptin, a satiety hormone, to cope with overnight fasting. To keep us awake during the day, the metabolism releases ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger. Shortening sleep disrupts these mechanisms and then increases appetite,” explains Dr. Olivier Coste, a sleep doctor in Bordeaux. Restless nights also modify behavior and dictate our food choices. “After a good night’s sleep, we turn to low-calorie foods, while sugar and fat are more appealing to us when we haven’t had enough sleep,” adds the specialist. QED.
” data-script=”https://static.lefigaro.fr/widget-video/short-ttl/video/index.js” >
According to Joel Adrien, a neurobiologist and director of research at the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm), longer wakefulness is also responsible for greater food intake, particularly snacking. “By increasing the duration of wakefulness, we increase the time available for eating, but not for physical activity, because we are tired. Then we enter a vicious cycle,” warns the expert.
Furthermore, if you try a diet and see no effect on the scale, you can look to your nights for the answer. “Hormonal changes affect the loss of fat mass during a weight loss diet. When you don’t sleep enough, you lose more muscle than fat,” emphasizes the sleep specialist.
When you don’t get enough sleep, you lose more muscle than fat
Joel Adrien, neurobiologist
Two bad nights are enough
If you thought that sleeping six hours a week had no effect on your body, researchers note that these disorders are visible from two bad nights. “The body is disrupted by acute deprivation, such as during a sleepless night, as well as by chronic deprivation. A person who doesn’t sleep enough for a week will have a hard time regulating his appetite,” emphasizes Olivier Coste.
These effects are long-term and difficult to reverse. “Lack of sleep never recovers and can cause diabetes and hypertension in addition to obesity,” emphasizes Joel Adrien. In terms of consequences on the scale, nature is clearly unfair. Bad nights will be barely visible in some people’s weight, while others will notice them quickly and have a hard time recovering from them.
Sleep deprivation never recovers
Joel Adrien, neurobiologist
How to assess sleep deprivation?
To find out if you’re getting enough sleep, look at your waking hours during the week and on weekends. “If there is a difference of more than two hours between the weekend and the week, there is a lack of sleep. During the week, if you have trouble getting up in the morning or want to sleep early in the afternoon, you must certainly not be getting enough sleep,” explains Olivier Coste.
(1) The survey was conducted by telephone among 12,637 people aged 18 to 75.
*This article, originally published in April 2017, has been updated.
Source: Le Figaro
