A new study adds to growing evidence that adequate sleep is essential for general health and well-being. Previous studies have shown that sleep deprivation leads individuals to eat more, and this latest study just came to confirm that participants who increased their sleep consumed fewer calories overall.

Published at JAMA Internal Medicine on February 7 2022, this new study found that getting more sleep each night helps promote weight loss.This report adds to the growing evidence that adequate sleep is an important part of overall health and well-being.

Study participants reduced their average daily caloric intake of 270 kcal (kcal) just by increasing sleep by about an hour per night.

Previous research has shown that a lack of sleep leads people to overeat and increases their odds of acquiring weight over time. According to the researchers, these new data suggest that optimal sleep patterns can contribute to weight loss over time.

Better sleep associated with low calorie intake

The researchers recruited 80 obese adults aged 21 to 40 who usually sleep less than 6.5 hours a night. Participants received individualized sleep hygiene advice. They slept in their bed as usual and tracked their sleep on a wearable device.

After being told to maintain all of their regular routines, including their exercise and nutrition habits, each participant was urged to increase their sleep time by 1.2 hours, for a total of 8.5 hours of sleep every night.

In comparison, participants who added 1.2 hours to their sleep times saw a metabolic increase on average, through 270 kcals a day.According to the study, that amount can result in a loss of 26 pounds over three years, just considering the sleep quality factor alone.

How Does Sleep Affect Your Weight?

Sleep has been shown to influence appetite-regulating hormones. "Sleep deprivation can increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body and lower levels of the hormone leptin, which controls appetite," says Ryan Fiorenzi, founder of StartSleeping.org.

“When the body doesn’t get the signals it’s used to receiving in its typical sleep-wake cycle, it can try to compensate in other ways and seek out high calorie foods”, Fiorenzi added.Furthermore, sleep influences elements in circadian rhythms, which can influence when individuals eat.

Several studies have established a clear relationship between short sleep periods and obesity, with individuals who slept fewer than 6 hours per night being more likely to be obese than those who slept more than 7 hours per night.

Based on the findings of this study, it is becoming increasingly clear that enough sleep is critical for overall health and well-being, including weight loss. Furthermore, sleep deprivation is a significant risk factor for weight gain and metabolic diseases.