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While most people think that the truth about weight gain is that it is not always an indicator of a serious health problem. While unexplained weight gain can be an issue, most of the time it is our lifestyle that adds to the extra kilos. Not sleeping properly also contributes to the problem, new research has found.
We've all had days when we're feeling sluggish, maybe even irritable, and the thought of an indulgent snack seems like the ideal way to lift our spirits. But is it healthy? While we all are aware of the fact that unhealthy snacking can be unhealthy, but did you know a lot of it has to do with you feeling lazy, lethargic?
The study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that people who get less sleep are more likely to eat more snack calories in a day. As per the study by the Ohio State University, not getting at least seven hours of sleep per night is linked to eating more carbohydrates, extra fats, sugar, and caffeine-rich snacks.
Researchers of the study explained that staying up late gives us additional possibilities to eat irresponsibly. It's a simple equation: you can't snack while you're sleeping! Furthermore, regardless of sleep habits, almost everyone likes salty or sugary foods and non-alcoholic soft beverages when it's snack time, according to this study. This is another reason why persons with irregular sleeping habits consume more unhealthy calories daily.
While there are other studies explaining how sleeping for at least seven hours per night is crucial to maintain a healthy weight and wellbeing, this study draws a parallel between lack of sleep and unhealthy snacking.
For the research, the Ohio team looked at data from approximately 20,000 persons in the United States between the ages of 20 and 60. All of that data was gathered for the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a health survey run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2007 and 2018. (CDC). Each participant had completed a series of nutritional questionnaires in which they were asked about their daily eating and sleeping habits.
It was observed that the majority of participants (95.5%) reported they ate at least one snack every day regularly. Not-so-healthy foods and beverages, such as soda, energy drinks, chips, cookies, and pastries, accounted for more than half of all snacking calories among all participants.
Those with less-than-ideal sleep patterns were more likely to take a morning snack than those who slept seven or more hours each night on a regular basis. In general, they ate more snacks with little to no nutritious value.
One of the most important aspects of these findings is that nighttime snacking can lead to other consequences since many people avoid workouts or strenuous workouts. The result is that you end up going to bed with extra calories.
"Not only are we not sleeping when we stay up late, but we're doing all these obesity-related behaviours: lack of physical activity, increased screen time, food choices that we're consuming as snacks and not as meals. So, it creates this bigger impact of meeting or not meeting sleep recommendations," said Christopher Taylor, professor of medical dietetics in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at The Ohio State University and senior author of the study.
Therefore, the researchers hope that this study encourages people to follow a proper sleep schedule to avoid health complications and live healthier lives.