Sleep and Metabolism
Sleep and its disorders are increasingly becoming important in our sleep deprived society. Sleep is intricately connected to various hormonal and metabolic processes in the body and is important in maintaining metabolic homeostasis. Research shows that sleep deprivation and sleep disorders may have profound metabolic and cardiovascular implications. Sleep deprivation, sleep disordered breathing, and circadian misalignment are believed to cause metabolic dysregulation through myriad pathways involving sympathetic overstimulation, hormonal imbalance, and subclinical inflammation. This paper reviews sleep and metabolism, and how sleep deprivation and sleep disorders may be altering human metabolism.
Continue Reading » Sleep and Metabolism
Sleep, Appetite, and Obesity: What Is the Link?
There is a well-documented relationship between short sleep duration and high body mass index (BMI). In the largest study, a survey on sleep duration and frequency of insomnia in more than 1.1 million participants, increasing BMI occurred for habitual sleep amounts below 7–8 hours [1]. A recent prospective study found an association between sleep curtailment and future weight gain [2]. The mechanism linking short sleep with weight gain is unknown, but Mignot and colleagues' study in this month's PLoS Medicine [3] adds to the growing evidence implicating leptin and ghrelin, the two key opposing hormones involved in appetite regulation.
Continue Reading » Sleep, Appetite, and Obesity: What Is the Link?
Pathways Linking Chronic Sleep Restriction to Obesity
A growing number of studies have identified chronic sleep restriction as a potential risk factor for obesity. This could have important implications for how obesity is prevented and managed, but current understanding of the processes linking chronic sleep restriction to obesity is incomplete. In this paper, we examined some of the pathways that could underlie the relationship between chronic sleep restriction and obesity. This involved exploring some of the potential environmental, health, behavioral, and sociodemographic determinants of chronic sleep restriction, which require further investigation in this context. Three pathways that could potentially link chronic sleep restriction to obesity were then examined: (1) altered neuroendocrine and metabolic function, (2) impaired glucose regulation, and (3) waking behavior. The selected pathways linking chronic sleep restriction to obesity reviewed in this paper are presented in a schematic representation; this may be used to guide future research in this area. This area of research is important because it may lead to more effective interventions and strategies to combat the present obesity epidemic.
Continue Reading » Pathways Linking Chronic Sleep Restriction to Obesity
| Share Site | Follow Us! | ||
   |
