Lack of Enough Sleep is Harmful to Your Health

Individuals who suffer from sleep deprivation have been found to record the highest cases of late-night snacking. Well, waking up from time and again for a trip to the fridge is not harmful. However, making it a daily habit poses great dangers to your health.

A study conducted last year had already established that when you eat past bedtime, you put yourself at the danger of damaging your skin. This is so since you alter the production of the protective enzyme.

The skin issue may be an irritation to many but there are even more serious consequences of late-night snacking, including increased risk to heart disease and diabetes. A new study by the University of Arizona in Tucson asserts that the more you are sleep-deprived, the more likely are you to crave for junk foods. We all know what repeatedly eating junk foods can do to your health and overall weight.

Michael A. Grandner, a co-author of the study, said that the study shades more light to exactly what happens in the real world when one is battling with sleep problems.

Poor Sleep = Junk Food Craving

To conduct this study, the researchers gathered data through phone surveys to which 3105 participants from 23 metropolitan areas of the U.S. provided information regarding their sleep and diet habits.

The participants were asked about the way they snack at night and any health issue diagnosed. Furthermore, the respondents were quizzed on whether sleep deprivation increased their possibility to eat junk foods.

About 60% of those questioned acknowledged they regularly snacked at night, with two-thirds of them saying that lack of sleep was the main reason they reached for the unhealthy snacks.

The research authors observed that individuals who reportedly craved for junk food had double the possibility of indulging in night-time fridge raids, which in turn made at the risk of developing diabetes.

Grandner hypothesized that “the connection between poor sleep, cravings for junk food and unhealthy snacking at night may be used to indicate the manner in which sleep regulates metabolism.”

Past studies, including one by the American Sleep Association, have shown that about 50 to 70 million Americans struggle with a sleep disorder. Given that there is a direct relationship between lack of sleep and the kind of diet one indulges in, the findings of this study must be taken seriously.

It is necessary that we do all it takes to get a good night’s sleep. The duration and quality of one’s sleep must be carefully evaluated as it forms the basis for improving our dietary habits and keeps metabolic conditions at bay.

“Health experts recognized the importance of sleep long before this study. Our study focused on the link between one’s sleep and eating patterns which we hope will help improve your health,” said Christopher Sanchez, the study lead author.