Excess Weight and Poor Sleep Habits Result in Health Double Whammy

Data support the health value of going to bed when tired and not staying up to stream, text, or game.

SeventyFour/Shutterstock

While being overweight or having poor sleep habits is linked to adverse health effects, the combination of these factors may further compound risks.

A recent study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) points to the increased dangers of overweight people with sleep disorders disregarding their bodies’ signals to go to sleep.

“This study builds support for the importance of good sleep habits,” said lead author Brooke Shafer, a postdoctoral researcher in the Sleep, Chronobiology, and Health Laboratory at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) School of Nursing, in a press release.

Story continues below advertisement

“Sleep practices, like going to bed when you’re tired or setting aside your screen at night, can help to promote good overall health,” added Shafer.

Double Trouble

Researchers at OHSU found that in men, the combination of excess weight and sleep disruption was related to increased belly fat, higher triglycerides, and increased rates of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes. In women, the combination was related to elevated heart rate, higher glucose, and more significant body fat percentages.

“It was really somewhat surprising to see these differences present themselves in a sex-dependent manner,” said senior author Andrew McHill, who has a doctorate in integrative physiology and is an assistant professor at the OHSU School of Nursing, School of Medicine, and Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at OHSU, in the release.

“It’s not one size fits all, as we sometimes think in academic medicine,” he continued.

Disrupted Circadian Rhythms

The JCEM study involved 30 overweight or obese participants who underwent an evening of laboratory assessment to identify when their bodies started producing melatonin, the hormone that induces sleep.

Researchers then used this measure of melatonin to determine whether the participants were aligned with their circadian rhythms by measuring the time interval between melatonin onset and average sleep onset over seven days. Circadian rhythm is the body’s natural internal clock that controls body processes in the sleep-wake cycle.

Story continues below advertisement

Next, the researchers used these measurements to divide the participants into two groups: those with a narrow window and those with a wide window.

A narrow window denotes a short interval between melatonin onset and sleep, and a wide window denotes a long interval. A narrow interval indicates a person stays awake too late for their internal body clock, which is generally associated with adverse health effects.

Resetting the Clock

Notably, the JCEM study participants’ sleep deficit stemmed from not going to bed when tired rather than from insomnia, the inability to fall or stay asleep. This raises the question of what factors underlie the behavior and what can be done about it.

Shafer told The Epoch Times in an email, “There is an evening increase in alertness, which usually occurs a couple of hours before people’s normal bedtime. During this time, they might feel particularly awake and eager to stream a few episodes of their favorite show or play on their phones, which can then delay the time at which they would be going to sleep.”

On a related note, blue light from phones and other electronic devices can also disrupt sleep.

Story continues below advertisement

Since this behavior disrupts circadian rhythms, she recommends practicing good sleep habits, such as turning off electronic devices when starting to experience sleepiness and trying to keep a consistent bedtime. This should be an important part of an everyday routine.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute advises additional healthy lifestyle changes to reset circadian rhythms related to sleep, including:

• Keeping to a regular meal schedule
• Avoiding nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol
• Getting regular exercise
• Managing light exposure with more sunlight during the day and less artificial light at night

In some cases, a sleep physician may suggest light therapy, wherein a person plans a time to sit in front of a light box, which emits bright light similar to sunlight. Moving a sleep and wake time earlier involves using the box upon awakening in the morning to alleviate daytime drowsiness.

Health Consequences

A review published in Nature and Science of Sleep examined a body of research on the short- and long-term effects of sleep disruption. The results showed links to a broad range of health consequences.

Short-term effects include the following:

• Mood disorders
• Increased responsiveness to stress
• Decreased quality of life
• Cognition and memory deficits
• Behavioral problems

Long-term effects include a higher risk of the following:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Weight-related issues
• Unhealthy cholesterol levels
• Metabolic syndrome
• Colorectal cancer

Functional Foods for Sleep

Although sometimes a sleep deficit is due to volitionally burning the midnight oil, as in the JCEM study, other times it stems from insomnia. When this happens, the following functional foods may help:

• Barley grass: A review published in Current Signal Transduction Therapy in 2014 stated that barley grass powder is the ideal food for promoting sleep because of its high content of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), an amino acid involved in the circadian clock’s sleep maintenance. Barley grass is also rich in magnesium, calcium, and B vitamins, all of which play a role in sleep.
• Whole grains: According to the 2014 review, when manufacturers process whole grains into refined grains, the loss of nutrients is a key cause of insomnia. To illustrate, when brown rice is made into white rice, it loses GABA, magnesium, calcium, and potassium.
• Polyphenol-rich foods: Another review noted that some evidence suggests that polyphenol intake from foods may lower the likelihood of inadequate sleep. Polyphenols are antioxidants in fruits and vegetables.

Good Sleep Hygiene Worth the Effort

Sleep quality influences many aspects of health, including weight control. While some lifestyle practices that promote wellness can be difficult, good sleep habits—such as having a regular bedtime—may not pose as much of a challenge and are well worth the effort.