If You Cannot Work Out How To Lose Weight, Sleep On It.

Recent research has provided further evidence that sleep helps us to lose weight. More that 6 in 19 adults are now overweight, or worse, obese. Not so long ago it was thought that lack of exercise is the problem, however recent research revealed that moderate exercise does not help you lose much weight. So then all the blame was pushed on to diet.

But, new research supports the theory that a lack of sleep may be the root cause of weight gain for many people.

“We discovered that people who sleep for significantly less than seven hours a night often end up being obese.” Dr Shahrad Taheri,  Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, UK.

In a study, subjects that slept for less that 4 hours a night would consume up to an additional 900kcal per day in snacks alone. Sleep deprivation leads to some serious snacking.

People are getting on average 2 hours sleep per night less than they did 50 years ago. During the 1950′s people slept for 9 hours per night. In these days there was no late night television at all, no Internet, and very little radio. There really was not much to do at night, so people would usually be tucked up in bed by 10pm every night. Nowadays people are watching television late into the night mid-week, and checking emails and social networking sites before bed, adding hours to their evening.

“We suspect sleep loss may not only hasten the onset, but could also increase the severity of ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and memory loss.” Eve Van Cauter, lead researcher.

As we at MotleyHealth.com have mentioned before, for a healthy body, you need a healthy lifestyle, and that involves healthy eating, regular exercise and plenty of rest. Athletes follow these rules to reach their peak performance, bodybuilders know that sleep is essential to building muscles and “cutting”. So, if your weight loss is becoming a challenge, and you do not know what to do next, sleep on it, and the problem may resolve itself overnight!

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