Too little sleep puts children at the risk of obesity and other health conditions, but catch-up sleep on weekends and holidays can lessen the effects of weekday sleep loss.
Too little sleep puts children at the risk of obesity and other health conditions, but 'catch-up' sleep on weekends and holidays can lessen the effects of weekday sleep loss.
Previous studies have shown that inadequate sleep has biological effects, including high blood sugar and cravings for sweet and high-fat foods. To investigate whether insufficient sleep also contributes to obesity, researchers monitored the sleep patterns of 308 children in America for a week and compared their sleep patterns with their body mass index (BMI), which is a measurement that takes into account height and weight. The children, who were 4 to 10 years old, averaged eight hours of sleep a night.
It was found that among the children who got the recommended amount of sleep (that is at least 10 hours a day), the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular problems was nil. But, as the amount of sleep became shorter and the regularity of sleep became less organised, the risk for obesity increased. Children who had the shortest sleep and had a more disorganised sleep schedule had more than a fourfold increase in the risk of being obese. These children were also at high risk for cardiovascular problems and pre-diabetes. However, if these children consistently slept longer on weekends to compensate, the risk for obesity and metabolic problems was reduced to a 2.8-fold increase.
The findings suggest that insufficient sleep is linked to higher BMIs and making up for lost sleep on weekends seems to help.
Previous studies have shown that inadequate sleep has biological effects, including high blood sugar and cravings for sweet and high-fat foods. To investigate whether insufficient sleep also contributes to obesity, researchers monitored the sleep patterns of 308 children in America for a week and compared their sleep patterns with their body mass index (BMI), which is a measurement that takes into account height and weight. The children, who were 4 to 10 years old, averaged eight hours of sleep a night.
It was found that among the children who got the recommended amount of sleep (that is at least 10 hours a day), the risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular problems was nil. But, as the amount of sleep became shorter and the regularity of sleep became less organised, the risk for obesity increased. Children who had the shortest sleep and had a more disorganised sleep schedule had more than a fourfold increase in the risk of being obese. These children were also at high risk for cardiovascular problems and pre-diabetes. However, if these children consistently slept longer on weekends to compensate, the risk for obesity and metabolic problems was reduced to a 2.8-fold increase.
The findings suggest that insufficient sleep is linked to higher BMIs and making up for lost sleep on weekends seems to help.
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