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Easy health tip #4: Who needs sleep? You do, fatty!

by Wade Meredith on July 10th, 2006

Oh, I kid, I kid. I know you’re big-boned just like me.

I can’t seem to ever get enough sleep, but when I do it severely affects my appetite: I don’t snack nearly as much. Studies have shown for years that a lack of sleep turns on a sort of “craving mode” in your head, and it’s not for vegies and tofu. It’s for short-term energy solutions- carbs. Which your body immediately converts to fat while you’re riding that desk at 2 0′clock fighting off buffet-coma in your office.

In the last 30 years the average American has gone from getting 10 hours of sleep, to getting 7. This does not bode well for my gut…

From the National Sleep Foundation

One of the keys to the sleep deprivation-obesity relationship may be the hormone leptin, which signals when the body needs or does not need more food. Leptin levels rise during sleep and signal a decrease in caloric need. During periods of sleep deprivation, leptin levels are low, signaling increased caloric need. Some research has indicated an association between low leptin levels, overeating and obesity.

“We know there is a connection between sleep and appetite control,” according to Eve van Cauter, PhD.

So you can’t actually lose weight in your sleep like that ad in the back of Popular Science says, so don’t send money. But you can help curb your appetite by getting enough sleep.

This is fantastic! I like to sleep. Hell, I LOVE to sleep. This health tip is so easy!

Technorati Tags: sleep, obesity

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