A pre-holiday quickie....
Research the University of Chicago showed that dieters who slept 8.5 hours lost 55 percent more body fat than dieters who slept only 5.5 hours.
The authors stated: "Lack of sufficient sleep may compromise the efficacy of typical dietary interventions for weight loss and related metabolic risk reduction."
This may be due to a an affect on the levels of a hormone called ghrelin. Increased levels of ghrelin have been shown to increase appetite and increase fat retention.
Also, in this study, the subjects in this study who slept less claimed to be hungrier than those who slept more. The author's of the study concluded: "...the loss of sleep at times of limited food intake amplifies the pattern of ghrelin-associated changes in human hunger, glucose, fat utilization, and energy metabolism."
