Sleeping longer than 6.5 hours/day can help you lose weight: study

Remember that studies almost never make the strong claims that headlines do.<p>What the study actually demonstrates is more narrow, as befits science:<p>&quot;Overweight young adults who usually sleep less then 6.5 hours a day and are coached in sleep hygiene tend to sleep about an hour longer, consume fewer calories proportional to how much more they sleep, and have no significant change in today daily energy expenditure&quot;<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;oa.mg&#x2F;work&#x2F;10.1001&#x2F;jamainternmed.2021.8098" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;oa.mg&#x2F;work&#x2F;10.1001&#x2F;jamainternmed.2021.8098</a>

This article completely ignores the known &quot;why&quot;.<p>There are multiple factors in sleep that would have an influence on weight.<p>1) when you are sleep deprived, or don&#x27;t get enough sleep, you have increased insulin resistence, which is related to increased fat stores [1]<p>2) reduced sleep causes you to crave sugary and fatty foods as a source [2]<p>The idea from the article that sleep gained over x years would result in a * b reduction in weight is ludicrous. It doesn&#x27;t work that way.<p>I work in the sleep space as the founder of <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;soundmind.co" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;soundmind.co</a> we&#x27;re focused on improving Sleep Performance, the neurological function of sleep. Our DeepWave auditory stimulation is focused on some of the brains mechanisms that are associated with the insulin resistance mentioned above (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;soundmind.co&#x2F;research" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;soundmind.co&#x2F;research</a>).<p>Happy to answer any questions.<p>[1]<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.frontiersin.org&#x2F;articles&#x2F;10.3389&#x2F;fnut.2018.00077&#x2F;full#:~:text=Insulin%20resistance%20(IR)%20and%20related,the%20development%20of%20cardiometabolic%20diseases" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.frontiersin.org&#x2F;articles&#x2F;10.3389&#x2F;fnut.2018.00077...</a>.<p>[2]<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scientificamerican.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;getting-more-sleep-can-reduce-food-cravings&#x2F;#:~:text=Studies%20show%20that%20even%20a,even%20the%20thought)%20of%20food" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.scientificamerican.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;getting-more-slee...</a>.

Relevant to both parts of this study: I can’t recommend a walking treadmill with an electric standing desk enough. I walk about 4-5 hours a day at ~2 mph. I can eat what I want and maintain my weight (or lose it), I’m more alert during the day and I sleep better at night.<p>The only real issue is that if I have to think particularly hard on a problem I might have to step off of the treadmill&#x2F;turn it off for a bit.<p>I work from home and most of my work isn’t mentally challenging, so I know I have it better than most. Still, for anyone who thinks it might be doable for them I’d recommend it. It takes a while to get used to, but it happens. Right now I’d love to find a way to incline the treadmill easily to increase the challenge without increasing the speed.<p>Plus, you should see my calves. The bottom half of some pants look like leggings on me.

One anecdote is not data but…<p>True fact: when I was seriously losing weight I found that more sleep was key to my success.<p>I don’t snack when I’m sleeping!

I recommend too if you&#x27;re over 40, or in any way have disrupted sleep, to nap 20-30 mins after lunch. Its a great life hack if you WFH and helps cope with so many sleep issues with aging IMO. It seems to help me and a large number of my colleagues &gt; 40 years :)

I sleep between 6 to 7 hrs a day, and find it very hard to go back to sleep if woken up in between. Has anyone successfully changed their sleeping habits? If yes, how?

Ive found if I sleep less I eat more and I feel like garbage so I eat more junk food. I need my sleep.

They say junk food cravings increase when sleep deprived. Anecdotally, very true for me. My will power to choose good foods goes out the window when I am tired.

&gt; Researchers from the University of Chicago and the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that study participants consumed on average 270 calories less per day over two weeks if they slept at least one hour more than normal.<p>When I saw the title I suspected it was related to eating more if you slept less. I find myself doing this when I cheat myself out of a goodnight&#x27;s sleep.

Does the study correct for the reason <i>why</i> the participants slept less than 6.5h&#x2F;day? I&#x27;d suspect for many people the reason they don&#x27;t get enough sleep is also the reason they find it difficult to maintain an optimal diet or exercise (and thus gain weight), i.e. stress.

I feel like this has been known forever in the fitness industry &#x2F; community.<p>They&#x27;ve been saying for so long that<p>1. Sleeping more means less eating (both because you&#x27;re asleep, duh, and because ghrelin is reduced)<p>2. Sleeping more means weight loss is higher % from body fat (not lean mass)<p>3. Sleep is important for recovery for training and then you can exercise again sooner<p>For me I have a guideline that Sleep &gt; Nutrition &gt; Exercise &gt; &lt;bucket for all the other things, eg supplements&gt; -- such that I will sacrifice the lesser thing if it means I do better with the greater thing.<p>If I have to choose between getting at least 7 hours sleep or exercise, I sleep. (Ideally getting 8-9hrs sleep for my body)<p>If I have to choose between having satiating, low calorie - high nutrition foods in the house, and exercising, I go grocery shopping or get chopping.

Getting sufficient sleep is on the same level of importance for overall health as proper exercise and nutrition.<p>Among other things, sleep is when the majority of most people&#x27;s fat loss occurs, because the body is in a fasted state, oxidizing lipids for basal energy needs, and expelling the resultant Carbon Dioxide and water.<p>There are a great many other metabolic systems in the body that are detrimentally affected by a lack of sleep too. It&#x27;s quite important to get enough!

Not exactly. Sleep quality (phase) plays a big role in this. Non-restorative sleep, regardless of duration, is not going to result in meaningful weight loss. The exception being that if you sleep through 1 or 2 meals it might, but that suggests other problems.

The .pdf of the actual study is available here:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;jamanetwork.com&#x2F;journals&#x2F;jamainternalmedicine&#x2F;fullarticle&#x2F;2788694" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;jamanetwork.com&#x2F;journals&#x2F;jamainternalmedicine&#x2F;fullar...</a>

You loose weight by lowering your insulin enough to start burning fat. Sleeping longer means that your insulin stays lower for longer. So the real reason is the benefit of lowering your insulin. Not sleep itself.

As someone that has been having success with long term weight loss. Wow this topic brings out the absolute worst people with the strongest opinions. There is no hope for ending the obesity pandemic.

Probably would. I get 6 hours of sleep on a good day. I also work about 12 hrs a day. I do make sure to squeeze in a half hour of running most days.

My brain thinks about way too much shit at night to be able to sleep longer.<p>I&#x27;d basically have to give up caffeine to achieve this.

Jor jor se bolke sabko scheme bata de.

the term &quot;sleep for dinner&quot; applies for this too i think. If you consume less because you sleep an hour more, it might simply be the that the 200 calories of the nonsleepers are eating out of boredom.

&gt; Sleeping longer than 6.5 hours&#x2F;day can help you lose weight<p>so can dysentery

Fewer hours awake is fewer hours snacking. When I was doing a big weight loss I&#x27;d be very careful about putting myself to bed at like 22:00, because the later I&#x27;m awake, the greater my risk of snacks and booze entering the picture.

the only thing that works:<p>burn more calories than you take<p>don&#x27;t eat transformed food<p>eat 1 cheat meal a week to wake up your metabolism, it can be anything, really, ice cream, pizza, burgers, anything

&gt; <i>In other words, if the sleep extension was maintained for a period of 3 years, it would result in approximately 12kg of weight loss.</i><p>LOL. That’s not how this stuff works, as any dieter can tell you.

This just in: sleep is important for health.

People sleep less than 6.5 hours a night?

thank you for the subscribe popup modal telling me I don&#x27;t have to read the whole thing.

Less time awake = less time to eat

I think it may be correct, but I still think we need to eat less, and exercise more.<p><i>&gt; if the sleep extension was maintained for a period of 3 years, it would result in approximately 12kg of weight loss.</i><p>Sounds a bit simplistic.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;xkcd.com&#x2F;605&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;xkcd.com&#x2F;605&#x2F;</a>

I am an energetic person. I really find it very hard to fall asleep. But once i do, i really go into deep sleep, 7 to 8 hours of deep sleep. Also i am in my thirties. And i am still very fit and athletic body shape. Ppl are always surprised to know know that i am 30+ I only eat healthy food. Because i am very selective when it come to food and i don’t feel hungry much. My brother used to be in a great shape. But past 30 he become overweight.<p>Sleep is good but what you eat and how much you eat is the key

Title could be shortened to: Sleeping longer than 6.5h&#x2F;day can help lose weight

I&#x27;ve become extremely skeptical of this type of study. IMO, sleep needs and patterns vary so much between individuals that it&#x27;s basically impossible for highly generic advice like this to be meaningful.