Sleeping is food for the brain. Whenever teens don’t get ample sleep, they fall asleep during class, find it hard to concentrate, feel and look stressed, become ill much more, and don’t fulfill their obligations because of fatigue. Teens that sleep less than 8 hours might also take in more calories compared to those who get more than 8 hours sleep. As a result, there is a greater risk for obesity and related health issues, such as hypertension, heart problems, and also stroke.
But exactly how does lack of sleep actually affect teen weight gain? As reported by researchers, the hormones ghrelin and leptin operate in a “checks and balances” process to manage feelings of fullness and hunger. Ghrelin, which happens to be made in the intestinal tract, promotes appetite, and leptin, made in fat cells, delivers a signal to your brain when you’re full. Whenever you do not get ample sleep, it pushes leptin levels lower, and that means you do not feel as satisfied when you eat. Loss of sleep also results in ghrelin levels to go up, meaning your appetite is stimulated, so you desire more food. Both combined can set the stage for eating too much, which then can result in teen weight gain.
A negative connection was also found between weekday sleep length and obesity in males, with the least hours of weekday sleep linked to the highest BMI. There seems to be no evident connection involving obesity and weekday sleep hours in teen females.
The researchers think the sex-related variation in sleep and teen weight gain could be because of the variations in body composition while in puberty. Females and males go through different growth rates as well as hormone secretion while in puberty. The sleep factors that affect metabolism might increase teen weight gain in different ways within the two sexes.
As well as teen weight gain, lack of sleep while in teenage years could lead to bad sleep habits which continue into adulthood and lead to long lasting health issues.
Reference for: Lack of Sleep Linked to Teen Weight Gain
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