Women: Want to Weigh Less? Get More Sleep

Jan 22, 2014 | Sleep and health, Sleep and women

women sleep

If you’ve wondered why sleep is important, see these ways sleep impacts your health (photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com)

On January 23rd, people around the world will observe Women’s Healthy Weight Day.  This observance, now in its 21st year, centers around providing women and young girls with examples of what a healthy weight looks like as well as permission to feel good at a healthy weight.  But it also offers us all the opportunity to look at the issue of women and weight in a much broader context.  That means fighting for changes to print and media advertising as well as looking at the issue of obesity in women and finding ways to change these weight related issues for the next generation.

As a nod to Women’s Healthy Weight Day, we felt it pertinent to cover one of the most challenging changes society needs to make in support of healthy weight role models for women.  This change, which is close to our heart here at Valley Sleep Center, is how our society prioritizes sleep.  We want to raise awareness that one of the most important things that women can do to take control of their weight and their health is to get more sleep.  Rather than viewing sleep as something we can easily sacrifice, we need to elevate it and hold it up as something as sacred to good health and healthy weight as nutritious food and adequate exercise.

To help make the case, here is a collection of news articles, research findings, and other resources that underline the important role sleep plays in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight for women.

Research

  1. This study from John Hopkins University School of Medicine was presented at the American Heart Association’s 2012 Scientific Sessions and shows that  losing weight by dieting or dieting and exercising can make it easier to get a good night sleep.
  2. Consistent Sleep Patterns Tied to Healthy Weight from MedicalNewsToday.com
  3. Lack of Sleep Can Make Dieters Lose Muscle Instead of Fat from MedicalNewsToday.com
  4. Consistent bed time and wake time linked to Healthier Weight from Brigham Young University
  5. Study Links Sleep Deprivation to Weight Gain from Medscape.com

 

Articles

  1. Change Your Sleep Schedule to Lose Weight from Forbes.com
  2. Sleep More, Weight Less: The Link Between Sleep and Weight Loss from WedMd.com
  3. Waking Up to Sleep’s Role in Weight Control from Harvard School of Public Health
  4. Steady Sleep Schedule May Help Keep Weight Off  from Medline Plus
  5. Is Your Sleep Schedule Making You Fat? From WomensHealthMag.com