 By Elena Voropay Get Some Sleep Millions of people are in a bad mood and likely to pig out because they don't get enough sleep, a new poll says. If you find yourself making more mistakes, being impatient and blow up at your kids when we miss a proper night of shut-eye, you are proving the findings of American National Sleep Foundation.
The survey of 1,010 adults, conducted last December, found that nearly one-quarter feel they aren't getting the minimum amount of sleep they need to be alert the next day. Another 37 percent said they're generally so sleepy, it hinders their activities a few days each month. Sixteen percent said they experience this level of fatigue at least a few days a week. Most of those polled revealed an increased appetite that led to overeating - and, in some cases, obesity. People said they are sleeping an average of 6.9 hours on weeknights and 7.5 hours on weekends. Adults living in the West are more likely to get eight hours or more sleep on a weekday than those in the Midwest, South and Northeast. Those who got fewer than six hours of sleep on weekdays are twice as likely to describe themselves as stressed or sad. Sleep and Weight Gain And if you wonder where all the extra kilos come from, don't look anywhere further than your bedroom. New studies have shown that losing sleep can raise levels of hormones linked with appetite and eating behaviour. In one study, people who slept only four hours a night for two nights had an 18% reduction in leptin, a hormone that tells the brain there is no need for more food, and a 28% increase in ghrelin, which triggers hunger. The young men in the study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, also tended to eat more sweet and starchy foods when sleep was cut short: The sleep-deprived men chose lollies, cookies and cake over fruit, vegetables or dairy products. People who consistently slept five hours or less per night had on average 14.9% higher ghrelin levels and 15.5% lower leptin levels than those who slept eight hours a night. This means that the hunger hormones went up, and satiety hormones went down. In other results: * More than half surveyed said they experience symptoms of insomnia a few nights a week or more. * Thirty-seven percent said they snore frequently. * One in 10 experience pauses in breathing while sleeping. The solution to the problem? More sleep, the foundation says. |
Health 
.png)
