Women who are getting less sleep than they need could be causing themselves to gain weight, according to new research from Case Western Reserve University. A study recently completed showed that getting less than five hours per night makes a woman 32 percent more likely to experience major weight gain and 15 percent more likely to become obese.
Sanjay Patel, PhD, lead researcher, said that amount of exercise and quality of diet were also tracked in this study, but they found that the weight gain could not be due to those factors.
"Prior studies have shown that after just a few days of sleep restriction, the hormones that control appetite cause people to become hungrier, so we thought that women who slept less might eat more. But in fact they ate less," says Patel.
According to Patel, there was no conclusive evidence that proved why sleep deprivation leads to weight gain. The solution to the problem seems simple: get more sleep. But what about for women suffering from insomnia who try to get enough sleep but can't?
Memphis, Tenn.-based Selmedica Healthcare learned of this study and announced that their product, Diavad, is a viable option for women and men in this predicament. A company spokesperson reported that Diavad contains all-natural herbal ingredients that have been used to combat sleeplessness for centuries.
"Not only does lack of sleep cause weight gain, as this study has discovered, it also can lead to other health problems like depression, high blood pressure, and diabetes," says the spokesperson.
Source: Selmedica Healthcare
