If you're chronically sleep-deprived, hitting snooze could help you lose weight, new research suggests.
People who improved their sleep habits ate 270 fewer calories on average, without making other changes to their diet or habits, according to a study published February 7 in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers from the University of Chicago looked at 80 overweight adults who routinely slept less than six and a half hours per night. Half of them were asked to keep their usual routine. The other participants received a single sleep hygiene counseling session, and were able to increase their nightly sleep by about 1.2 hours, on average, during the two-week study period.
At the same time, researchers monitored their energy balance (calories in, calories out) using the gold standard for metabolism research, the doubly labeled water method, which measures average metabolic rate over time.
Without making any other changes to their diet or exercise, participants who slept more ate less, reducing calories by about 270 per day on average, with some eating up to 500 fewer calories a day.
The results are significant and suggest that it's possible to improve people's sleep habits, and that doing so could be a useful tool for weight loss, according to Dr. Esra Tasali, lead author of the study and the director of the UChicago Sleep Center. While the study didn't specifically look at weight loss, the significant calorie reduction could add up over time, she said.
"This is the first step in real world that we can do something about sleep deprivation, and it could be a game changer in the battle against obesity," Tasali told Insider.
Sleep is linked to appetite hormones, research suggests, which could help with weight management
Weight loss comes down to a calorie deficit — burning off more calories with activity than you consume in the form of food. Most diets are focused on cutting calories in some form, or adding exercise to burn more energy.
But participants in the sleep study ate less without changing their routine except for bedtime habits.
"We can objectively show that they're decreasing calories with no other recommendations. All they needed to do was live their usual lives," Tasali said.
Researchers didn't collect food journals, so it's not clear if participants ate less of certain foods or smaller portions overall. But previous research suggests that sleep deprivation can prompt cravings by increasing the hormone ghrelin, linked to appetite.
The most recent study is evidence that the inverse is true, and getting more sleep may help manage appetite, Tasali said, although more studies are needed to test sleep as a weight loss tool, alone or combined with diet.
Put away your phone and laptop for better sleep, experts say
For better rest, a bedtime routine without electronics is key, Tasali said.
"It's a good idea to completely forget about the habit of using a laptop in bed," she said. It might seem strange at first — participants in the study were reluctant to unplug, stop checking work email, and get off social media, according to Tasali. However, it paid off.
"Participants were really happy with the changes. If anything, they said they were more productive at work, and they loved the opportunity to read a traditional book before bed," she said.
Having a solid nightly routine can also help tackle another common barrier to a good night's sleep: a busy, stressful schedule.
The researchers' sleep hygiene counseling helped participants rework their schedule to find time for more hours in bed, such as prepping the next day's lunch ahead of time in order to sleep in.
"Small changes make a big difference," Tasali said.
