Many of us are overworked and overscheduled, and if you don’t squeeze in adequate time for sleep, you might need to add overweight to that list. A 2005 poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation shows that Americans average 6.8 hours of sleep per night—falling short of the recommended 7-8 hours. To make the situation even worse, some of us try to compensate for our lack of sleep on weeknights by getting extra sleep on the weekend. This inconsistent pattern can lead to sleep deprivation. Signs of deficient sleep are both mental and physical. It can impair your cognitive ability, concentration, coordination and reaction time, while making you moody, depressed or anxious. In addition, lack of sleep is associated with obesity, diabetes and impaired nervous and immune systems. Two hormones that signal the appetite, in opposing methods, may explain why we overeat when we under-sleep: Shortage of sleep lowers levels of leptin, a hormone that suppresses the appetite. When leptin levels are depleted, the body thinks it needs food, when in fact, adequate amounts of food may already have been consumed. Another hormone, ghrelin, sparks the appetite. Research has shown that insufficient sleep elevates levels of ghrelin, making you hungry. The reactions of these hormones suggest a correlation between obesity or weight gain and habitual sleep deprivation. When you don’t get enough sleep, leptin (appetite suppressor) dips and ghrelin (appetite i ...
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