What is exciting about the study, says Benedict, is that the participants, who were all overweight, only received such a simple instruction as "Can you improve your sleep?".
- They were all those who did not sleep the recommended length, ie slept at least seven hours.
They then started sleeping longer than seven hours, and the result was that they started eating less, he explains.
Benedict emphasizes that he and his colleagues carried out similar studies, where they turned the tables.
- If you do not sleep enough, it has been shown that a certain hormone increases in the body, which to the brain signals the need to eat.
And opposite hormones, which should signal that you do not really need food, are not enough in the blood.
Why smaller results still count
As for if the general blood values of the participants improved, it is so far difficult to notice according to Benedict:
- It takes time to lose weight, and even in this study, the participants did not lose much.
It was about a pound or so, but it was only for two weeks.
- But still, this study shows that, if we think about the equation that contains so many variables that are crucial in terms of body weight, then sleep also counts, he says.
Does this apply to everyone?
- It's not that simple.
It must be remembered that these overweight people did not get enough sleep to begin with.
You can not say that "The longer I sleep the more I go down".
There is a threshold, and it is probably between 7-9 hours.