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CHICAGO — Studies have shown that children and teens who fail to get the proper amount of sleep each night are more prone to obesity, and researchers now think it may be linked to a particular stage of sleep.
They said not spending enough time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep – the kind normally associated with dreaming – significantly increased the odds of obesity in children and teens.
"Our results demonstrated that the short sleep-obesity association may be attributed to reduced REM sleep," said Dr. Xianchen Liu of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh reported on Monday in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Ultimately, obesity is the byproduct of taking in more calories than the body needs. But Dr. Liu and his colleagues wanted to see a result of sleep deprivation.
They said sleep loss causes changes in hormone levels that may affect hunger. It also gives a person more time in which to eat, and makes a person sleepy during the day, which may make them less likely to exercise.
Dr. Liu said more research is needed to understand changes in the metabolism that occur when children and teens get too little sleep.
They noted that the obesity rate has more than tripled among children aged 6 to 11 years in the past 30 years. About 17 per cent of U.S. adolescents are now overweight or obese.
Given this, the researchers think doctors, schools and families should step in to ensure that children get enough sleep.
Dr. Liu suggested that parents establish regular bedtimes and wake-up times at both weekdays and weekends, improve the sleep environment and address any sleep disorders such as sleep apnea that may be keeping children from getting the sleep they need.
