A New Study Highlights Link In Between Obesity And Sleep Loss

(Newswire.net — November 22, 2021) Winnetka, IL — Scientists have been carrying out studies to look into the various aspects of diseases like obesity. These include its link with factors like sleep.

A study was carried out and published in PLOS Biology.

It was carried out by the researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine and the University of Nevada, Reno.

In this research, the findings indicate that energy conservation may be a major function of sleep. 

In previous studies, it has been shown that poor sleep quality is associated with the heightened odds of obesity. This is due to its ability to deregulate appetite, which in turn results in an increase in calorie consumption.

This new study has shown that it is not sleeping loss that leads to obesity. 

According to study co-author David Raizen, MD, Ph.D., they think that sleep is a function of the body trying to conserve energy in a setting where energy levels are going down. Our findings suggest that if you were too fast for a day, we would predict you might get sleepy because your energetic stores would be depleted.

Raizen is an associate professor of Neurology and a member of the Chronobiology and Sleep Institute at Penn.

It is, however, emphasized that these findings in worms may not directly translate to humans. Although the subjects, the C elegans are a good model for the study of mammalian slumber. This is because they need sleep like all other animals with nervous systems. 

The C. elegans, unlike humans, have complex neural circuitry and are difficult to study. It only has 302 neurons, one of which scientists know for certain is a sleep regulator.

Study co-author Alexander van der Linden, Ph.D., says they wanted to know, what is sleep actually doing? Short sleep and other chronic conditions, like diabetes, are linked, but it’s just an association. 

Van der Linden is an associate professor of Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno.

“It’s not clear if short sleep is causing the propensity for obesity, or that the obesity, perhaps, causes the propensity for a short sleep,” he adds.

Sleep is undeniably vital for various aspects of health. However, there are many people who struggle with sleep health issues and their consequences.

The good news is that there are actually remedies found to be particularly helpful for sleep improvement, and one is the use of a medicinal herb called ashwagandha.

It is widely obtained nowadays through the use of NutraHerbals Ashwagandha, which is known for its high potency and purity (www.amazon.com/organic-ashwagandha-root-powder/dp/B01GZALWGO)