Regularly cutting back on sleep could cause the number on the scale to creep up, according to new research.<\/p>\n
A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that adults who got about 90 minutes less sleep each night for six weeks gained roughly one pound on average compared with periods when they got enough rest.<\/p>\n
Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center studied 95 adults who were already at\u00a0risk for heart\u00a0<\/a>or metabolic disease, comparing six weeks of adequate sleep with six weeks of cutting about 90 minutes of sleep each night.<\/p>\n By the end of the sleep-restricted phase, participants weighed about one pound more on average and had slightly larger waistlines. They also spent more time sitting, although their levels of moderate and vigorous exercise remained about the same.<\/p>\n While participants gained weight, researchers did not detect significant changes in body fat or muscle mass. They also did not track how much participants ate, so it\u2019s unclear what drove the increase.<\/p>\n New research suggests regularly cutting sleep can cause the number on the scale to creep up. Antonio Ovejero Diaz<\/p>\n Dr. Somi Javaid, an Ohio-based OB-GYN and founder of HerMD who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital that sleep plays an important role in regulating the\u00a0body\u2019s metabolism.<\/a><\/p>\n Javaid said chronic sleep deprivation can make it harder for the body to regulate weight, but noted that women going through\u00a0menopause<\/a>\u00a0may be especially vulnerable because sleep problems become more common during that stage of life.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are destroying women\u2019s sleep at the exact life stage when their metabolism is [the] least able to absorb the hit, then telling them to eat less and exercise more,\u201d Javaid said.<\/p>\n Ohio-based OB-GYN Dr. Somi Javaid warns chronic sleep deprivation hurts metabolism. IAN HOOTON\/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY<\/p>\n