Obesity And Its Effects On The Quality Of Your Sleep

Need more reasons to eat healthier and fight the obesity epidemic? This study shows a further correlation between obesity and irregular sleep patterns. During the study, researchers fed rats diets high in fat for eight weeks and observed their sleeping patterns at 24-hour intervals.

The results showed that rats that ate the high-fat diet had fragmented sleep patterns and slept more during the day. Also, they found that obese rats slept more during the active phase of the day, which researchers correlated to daytime sleepiness in obese individuals.

Catherine Kotz, the lead author of the study stated, "The current studies show that after high-fat diet-induced weight gain in rats, sleep quality is poor and orexin sensitivity is decreased." Orexin is a neurotransmitter that regulates wakefulness, appetite, and arousal. Weight gain that is associated with poor sleep or no sleep, might be due to poor orexin sensitivity.