If you stay up late, you tend to eat more. It’s a simple fact, say US scientists, because you’re awake longer, realise you’re hungry (or just bored) and so you munch on more snacks. Not only does research show that getting five hours sleep a night and unlimited access to food causes you to put on weight, but a lack of sleep can also harm your overall wellbeing.
According to a study from the University of Colorado Boulder, if you have unlimited access to food and you only get five hours of sleep a night, you can put on an average of 2lb (1kg) in weight. This is hardly news to wellness experts, but little is known about why this occurs, and so the researchers delved a little deeper into the link between sleep and weight gain. They theorised that staying awake longer required more energy, but their study disproved this hypothesis, showing that study participants who slept for up to five hours a night required 5% more energy than others who slept up to nine hours, but still consumed 6% more calories.
Another thing the researchers found was that those on five hours’ sleep tended to eat smaller breakfasts than their dozy counterparts, and then ‘binged’ on snacks after they’d already eaten a main evening meal. This snacking habit turned out to be the main cause of the extra calories, amounting to more calories than any other individual meal in the participants’ day. Lead study author Kenneth Wright, director of CU-Boulder’s Sleep and Chronobiology Laboratory, explained, ‘When people are sleep-restricted, our findings show they eat during their biological night-time when internal physiology is not designed to be taking in food.’
If you want to sleep better, John Bramm, sleep expert for mattress brand Octaspring, advises ‘It’s a common misconception that alcohol is a liquid lullaby. It may help you get to sleep faster, but it actually acts as a stimulant as it is removed from the body.’ He continues, ‘Quality bed sheets will be softer on your skin, and ultimately, be more comfortable.’ He adds, that puffing your pillows ‘is a simple trick that will increase support whilst you sleep, as well as increase comfort. It’s also important to carry out a pillow audit; check how long you have had them for, and if they are giving you the comfort and support you need.’
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