In a study from the University of Pittsburgh, scientists found that getting better sleep at night may help you stick to a weight-loss plan.
They found that people with good sleep habits were better able to follow exercise and diet plans while trying to lose weight than those with poor sleep health.
The team says focusing on obtaining good sleep – seven to nine hours at night with a regular wake time along with waking refreshed and being alert throughout the day – may be an important behavior that helps people stick with their physical activity and dietary modification goals.
In the study, the team examined whether good sleep health was related to how well people followed lifestyle modifications in a 12-month weight-loss program.
They measured sleep habits for 125 adults who were overweight or had obesity but were free of medical conditions that required medical supervision of their diets or physical activity.
Participants were an average of 50 years old and predominantly white and female.
The researchers measured sleep habits using questionnaires, sleep diaries, and readings from a wrist-worn device that recorded sleep, waking activity, and rest over a seven-day period.
Six measures of sleep were scored as good or poor using a composite scale for sleep regularity, satisfaction, alertness, timing, percentage of time spent asleep in bed, and the number of hours slept.
Sleep measures were taken at the beginning of the study and again at six and 12 months.
The team found better sleep health was linked to higher rates of attendance at group sessions, higher rates of sticking to caloric intake goals, and greater improvements in time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity.
This could be because sleep impacts the things that drive hunger and cravings, the metabolism and the ability to regulate metabolism, and the ability to make healthy choices in general.
AHA recently added sleep duration to its list of key measures for good cardiovascular health, known as Life’s Essential 8.
The team suggested that future research examine whether improved sleep health can increase adherence to lifestyle modifications – and, ultimately, increase weight loss.
If you care about sleep, please read studies about herbs that may help you sleep better at night, and the hours you sleep can predict your risks of heart disease and diabetes.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about vitamins that could help reduce bone fracture risk, and these drugs could treat sleep loss and insomnia.
The study was conducted by Christopher E. Kline et al and presented at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health conference.
Copyright © 2023 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
