In this age of cellphones in every pocket and headphones in every ear, it’s no wonder most teens do not get enough sleep. Sleep-deprived teens suffer from various problems. Their health suffers, they experience mood problems, and their performance in school suffers.
These are only a few of the adverse effects of sleep loss. Another one includes weight gain. Poor sleep hygiene is one of the main causes of obesity. Teens who get inadequate sleep say they are too tired to exercise. Thus, they “burn less calories.”
Additionally, lack of sleep disrupts the key hormones involved in controlling hunger, leptin and ghrelin. Leptin inhibits hunger. It tells ours bodies to stop eating when we are full. Ghrelin, also called the “hunger hormone,” stimulates hunger.
Inadequate sleep results in more production of ghrelin and less production of leptin. The result? We keep on eating and gain weight.
The weird part is that obesity increases the risk of getting sleep apnea. Additionally, obesity and sleep apnea share common health risks like hypertension and diabetes. Sleep apnea also causes sleep deprivation, which in turn causes obesity. So, sleep loss causes obesity, which causes more sleep loss...where does this cycle end?
Source: Judd, Sandra J. Sleep disorders sourcebook. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, 2010. Print.
Thanks Shubhangi for taking a look at this result of sleep deprivation. I especially like the graphic from this post and your last one too. I hope you don't mind if I use them in my Psychology class.
ReplyDelete- Ms. Holtzman
Hi Shubhangi! I have heard about the effects of sleep deprivation before and I am glad you went in depth on them. Can sleep deprivation also cause obesity due to an increase in high calorie food consumption? Do people with poor sleep schedules have greater appetites to certain types of foods that could ultimately harm their health?
ReplyDeleteHey Shambhavi! That is a great question! Sleep deprivation can cause a lot of changes in one's diet. For one, sleep loss stops our bodies from processing sweeter foods. This is because the mitochondria in our cells don't function as well. Thus, we have higher blood sugar levels in the blood.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, sleep deprivation also causes an increase in the production of the hormone cortisol. Normally, this hormone is released when we are stressed or the level of glucose in our blood is low. This hormone also increases our appetite and we just grab whatever satisfies our pleasure at the moment. Most of the time, these are high-fat, high-carb meals, which can also result in weight gain.
Another reason we gain weight when we are sleep deprived is that our bodies think we are in danger and enter a mode where we are trying to maintain the resources of the body for a time when they are needed. Thus, we are less inclined to do anything active when sleep deprived. This is the reason why sleep deprived people tend not to exercise as much, which is another reason why they gain weight.