THE ESSENTIAL
- According to experts, a good night’s sleep should contain at least 3 to 5 cycles of 90 minutes on average.
- In France, 1 in 3 people is affected by a sleep disorder, according to Inserm.
Neglecting his sleep is not good for his figure. This was confirmed by Spanish researchers in a study presented at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.
They showed that young people who sleep less than 8 hours – the optimal sleep duration – are likely to gain more weight than others. And for good reason, lack of sleep can lead to an overproduction of ghrelin, a hormone secreted by the body that stimulates appetite.
1229 adolescents
To reach this conclusion, the scientists analyzed data from 1229 teenagers, aged 12 to 16. The researchers wanted to study children’s behavior and how sleep affected their weight. They measured their sleep over a week, before comparing it with their body mass index (BMI).
As a result, young people who slept less than seven hours a night had a 72% chance of having a BMI above 25 compared to those who slept more than eight hours. The study also showed that children from ethnic minority families had shorter sleep periods, and were therefore even more affected.
Good habits to adopt
While previous studies confirm this research, the researchers of this experiment are sounding the alarm. Cardiologist at the Spanish Cardiovascular Research Center in Madrid, Jesus Martinez Gomez wants schools to teach “good sleep habits” to secondary school students. “Public policies are also needed to tackle this global health problem”he adds.
As a reminder, lack of sleep promotes an increase in blood pressure and the production of bad cholesterol. It disrupts glucose metabolism, which can lead to the onset of type 2 diabetes.
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