Eat more and sleep more, the perfect recipe for oodles of fats on the body is what most of us believe. But, the formula for weight loss ought to be sleep more, claims a team from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
For the study, about 1,088 pairs of twins were examined. According to what was observed, persons who slept for less than 7 hours every day seemingly carried higher BMI as well greater genetic influences on body weight. These heritable effects of obesity seemed to be 2 folds higher for short sleepers as compared to those who took sleep for more than 9 hours.
“The results suggest that shorter sleep provides a more permissive environment for the expression of obesity related genes. Or it may be that extended sleep is protective by suppressing expression of obesity genes,†commented principal investigator Nathaniel Watson, MD, MSc, of the University of Washington.
As seen in the study sleeping for more than 9 hours apparently repressed the expression of genes that cause obesity. Notably, genetic effects amounted to nearly 70% of the BMI differences seen between the twins. In case of those sleeping for longer durations, this percentage was just about 32%, which means they did not carry more of the obesity genes.
Mentioned in the journal Sleep, the study showed that less sleep provided a more conducive environment for the activity of obesity-related genes. As the professionals put it, other forms of weight control like diet or exercise could work effectively when coupled with extended sleep duration.