Sleep Patterns affecting weight loss

Effective management of sleep and stress levels can help in the battle against obesity, according to recent US scientific reports.

In a recent study of around 500 clinically obese people, those getting either too much or not enough sleep were found to be less likely to lose weight in the 6 month study.

The International Journal of Obesity report also showed improved weight loss from reductions in stress levels. It is estimated that nearly one half of adults in the US have a BMI of more than 30, which means they are classified as clinically obese and sleep experts are suggesting those people need to "sleep better, exercise more and eat less".

Ok, I know you are all thinking "well tell us something we don't know" but this is a recent study and the connection with sleep behaviour cannot be ignored.

The research involved almost 500 patients (all clinically obese) and was carried out by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in the US. To complete the trial, patients were asked to exercise daily, attend regular group sessions and eat at least 500 calories less per day than they were used to.

Sleep and weight loss

It seems that patients who had lower stress levels at the start of the study, lost more weight. The sleep quality, time and regularity had a direct effect on the overall outcome of the weight loss regime. Experts in the UK commented that the sleep community had been aware of this for some time, but were nevertheless encouraged that obesity experts were at last taking a keen interest.

Further work needs to be done to evaluate the results of the trial, but authors are encouraged by the initial results and hope to extend the reach of the research into key areas of obesity management.

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