HHS HealthBeat (October 21, 2010)

Sleep weight away?

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

People have too much weight and often get too little sleep. But a study indicates that getting a good night’s sleep might help people lose some of the weight. At the University of Chicago, Plamen Penev did a small study –  10 overweight middle-aged  people who slept eight and one half hours for 14 days, and five and one half hours for another 14.

Penev says that, when they slept more, they burned more fat – and when they slept less, they burned more muscle mass. He thinks sleep affects hormones that affect weight. He advises:

``People who go on a diet should probably be paying attention to obtaining sufficient amount of sleep during the process.’’ (8 seconds)

The study in Annals of Internal Medicine was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011