Are you sacrificing your sleep for your productivity? You might want to think twice before continuing down that path, especially if you are someone who cares about health and fitness. A recent study published in the journal Sleep Medicine reveals that sleep duration plays a crucial role in determining body fat distribution among adults aged between 18 to 59 years in the United States. The study found a negative association between sleep duration and visceral fat mass accumulation. In simpler terms, this means that adults who sleep less have a higher likelihood of accumulating more visceral fat. However, the study did not find any associations between sleep duration and fat mass in other body regions like arms, legs, trunks, and abdominal subcutaneous fat.
Being overweight is a significant health issue affecting about 600 million adults globally. In the United States, over 66% of adults are classified as obese with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m² or more. “At present, a plethora of studies have explored the relationship of sleep duration with regional body fat mass, without accounting for whole-body adiposity and the concurrent effect of other regions of adipose tissue. The purpose of this observational study was to comprehensively investigate the potential association between sleep duration with regional body fat mass in US adults," says the study.
The data was gathered from individuals between the ages of 18 to 59 years in two consecutive survey periods of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey or NHANES (2011-2012 and 2013-2014), with the age limit selected based on the availability of data on sleep duration, quality, disorders, and body fat distribution.
The research also suggested that sleeping for eight or more hours per day could have positive impacts on maintaining healthy body fat composition. The findings could be due to dysregulated brain activity in regions linked to neurohormonal imbalances, but the researchers recommend prospective and mechanistic studies to verify the effect of sleep duration on visceral adiposity and determine its causes.
“These findings may be clinically significant as visceral adiposity is associated with metabolic perturbations such as insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, increasing the risk of endothelial and cardiometabolic dysfunctions,” stated the study, according to the Journal of Sleep Medicine.
These findings can help individuals understand how sleep plays an essential role in regulating body fat and highlight the need to prioritize sleep as a means to maintain healthy body composition.
Read all the Latest Buzz News here