How Sleep Deprivation Can Lead to Weight Gain

Sleep is an important factor to help maintain health and well-being. It’s recommended that an adult should get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Getting a good night’s sleep has many benefits such as better memory, reduced stress levels and lowers the risk of heart disease.

On the flip side, not getting enough sleep regularly can have serious repercussions such as a weaker immune system, weight gain, lack of energy throughout the day and mental health problems.

The fitness industry preaches that exercise and nutrition are the only two factors that are responsible for controlling weight. However, it’s now known that weight is affected by more than your actions some aspects are sleep, stress, hydration, medications and genetics.

Adults who sleep under 5 hours per night were 55 % more likely to be obese than those sleeping 5 or more hours per night.

A lack of sleep can also lead to obesity in children. A study followed more than 8,000 children from birth, at the age of 3 those who slept fewer than 10 and a half hours a night had a 45% higher risk of becoming obese by the age of 7.