Poor sleep may undermine attempts to maintain weight loss, research has suggested.
Millions of people who are overweight or obese manage to lose weight every year. But many often then face a struggle to keep the pounds creeping back.
Now results from a randomised trial, which was conducted by the University of Copenhagen and presented at the European Congress on Obesity, suggests better and longer sleep patterns could help keep the weight off for good.
Photo: AFP 照片：法新社
It is well known that not getting enough or poor quality sleep increases the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and fatty deposits building up in the arteries.
Not getting enough sleep has also been linked to diabetes, inflammation and heart disease. Scientists now increasingly believe poor sleep may be a contributing factor in weight regain after weight loss.
In the study, 195 adults who were obese and aged between 18 and 65 followed a very low-calorie diet (800 kcal/day) for eight weeks, losing on average 12 percent of their bodyweight.
They were then tracked for a year. Their sleep duration was measured using data from wearable monitors and their sleep quality was measured with the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), a self-rated questionnaire.
Those who slept for less than six hours a night were found to have, on average, increased their body mass index (BMI) by 1.3 points after a year compared with those who slept for more than six hours.
Similarly, the BMI for those who had poor quality sleep increased by 1.2 points after a year compared with those whose sleep was of a good quality. The authors noted the study was observational and could not prove that poor sleep caused weight changes, but suggested that it was likely to contribute.
“The fact that sleep health was so strongly related to weight loss maintenance is important since many of us don’t get the recommended amount of sleep needed for optimal health and functioning,” said Prof Signe Torekov, of the University of Copenhagen.
More than a third of adults in the UK and the US do not frequently get enough sleep, previous research has found, largely owing to a host of factors in modern life including stress, computers, smart devices and the blurring of work-life boundaries.
The study also found about two hours of vigorous physical activity a week could help maintain better sleep.
“Future research examining possible ways of improving sleep in adults with obesity will be an important next step to limit weight regain,” said Torekov. “Weight loss maintained with exercise seems promising in improving sleep.”
(The Guardian)
研究顯示，睡眠不足可能會讓減重的成果無法維持。
每年有數百萬超重或肥胖的人設法減輕了體重。但許多人之後常與回升的體重搏鬥。
現在，一項由哥本哈根大學進行並在歐洲肥胖醫學會研討會中發表的隨機試驗，其結果顯示，更好及更長的睡眠型態，有助於減重成果的恆久維持。
眾所周知，睡眠不足或睡眠品質差會增加高血壓、高膽固醇及動脈脂肪沉積之風險。
糖尿病、發炎與心臟病也與睡眠不足有關。科學家現今愈發相信，睡眠不足可能是造成減重後復胖的一個因素。
在這項研究中，一百九十五名年齡在十八至六十五歲之間的肥胖成年人連續八週採取極低熱量飲食（每日八百大卡），平均減掉百分之十二的體重。
之後對他們進行一年的追蹤。其睡眠時間以穿戴式監測器之數據測得，睡眠品質則是以匹茲堡睡眠品質量表（PSQI）來評量，這是一種自評問卷。
與睡眠時間每晚六小時以上的人相較，睡眠時間在六小時以下的人，一年後的身體質量指數（BMI）平均增加了一點三個百分點。
同樣地，與睡眠品質好的人相比，睡眠品質差的人一年後其BMI增加了一點二個百分點。該研究作者指出，這項研究是觀察性的，無法證明睡眠不足會造成體重的改變，但暗示它可能是成因。
哥本哈根大學教授西涅‧托瓦寇表示：「睡眠健康與減肥成果的保持密切相關，這一事實很重要，因為許多人並未得到維持最佳健康及功能所需的建議睡眠量」。
先前的研究發現，在英國與美國，超過三分之一的成年人經常睡眠不足，這主要歸因於現代生活中的諸多因素，包括壓力、電腦、智慧型裝置，以及工作與生活界線的模糊。
該研究還發現，每週從事約兩個小時的劇烈體育活動，會睡得更好。
托瓦寇說：「未來對肥胖成年人睡眠的研究，檢驗可能的改善方法，會是限制復胖的重要下一步」。「以運動來維持減重成果，似乎對改善睡眠大有可為」。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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