Studies have shown that children and teens who fail to get the proper amount of sleep each night are more prone to obesity, and researchers now think it may be linked to a particular stage of sleep.
They said not spending enough time in rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep -- the type that is normally associated with dreaming -- significantly increased the odds of obesity in children and teens.
"Our results demonstrated that the short sleep-obesity association may be attributed to reduced REM sleep," said Dr. Xianchen Liu of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh reported on Monday in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Ultimately, obesity is the byproduct of taking in more calories than the body needs. But Liu and colleagues wanted to see if they could identify any stage of sleep that appeared especially important.
The researchers studied 335 children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 for three consecutive nights. Their sleep was monitored through polysomnography, which measures sleep cycles and stages by recording brain waves, electrical activity of muscles, eye movement, breathing rate, blood pressure, and other variables.
Weight and height were measured to calculate body mass index, a measure of obesity. They found 15 percent were at risk for becoming overweight and 13 were overweight.
When they compared the sleep patterns among these groups, they found children who were overweight slept about 22 minutes less per night than normal-weight children. They also had shorter REM sleep, less eye activity during REM sleep and a longer wait before the first REM period.
After adjusting for other factors, they found one hour less of total sleep doubled the odds of being overweight, and one-hour less of REM sleep tripled the odds.
"Although the precise mechanisms are currently under investigation, the association between short sleep duration and overweight may be attributed to the interaction of behavioral and biological changes as a result of sleep deprivation," Liu and colleagues wrote.
They said sleep loss causes changes in hormone levels that may affect hunger. It also gives a person more time in which to eat, and makes a person sleepy during the day, which may make them less likely to exercise.
Liu said more research is needed to understand changes in the metabolism that occur when children and teens get too little sleep.
They noted that the obesity rate has more than tripled among children aged 6 to 11 years in the past 30 years, and about 17 percent of U.S. adolescents are now overweight or obese.
Given this, the researchers think doctors, schools and families should step in to ensure that children get enough sleep.
Liu suggests parents establish regular bedtime and wake up times at both weekdays and weekends, improve the sleep environment and address any sleep disorders such as sleep apnea that may be keeping children from getting the sleep they need.
They said not spending enough time in rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep -- the type that is normally associated with dreaming -- significantly increased the odds of obesity in children and teens.
"Our results demonstrated that the short sleep-obesity association may be attributed to reduced REM sleep," said Dr. Xianchen Liu of Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh reported on Monday in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
Ultimately, obesity is the byproduct of taking in more calories than the body needs. But Liu and colleagues wanted to see if they could identify any stage of sleep that appeared especially important.
The researchers studied 335 children and adolescents aged 7 to 17 for three consecutive nights. Their sleep was monitored through polysomnography, which measures sleep cycles and stages by recording brain waves, electrical activity of muscles, eye movement, breathing rate, blood pressure, and other variables.
Weight and height were measured to calculate body mass index, a measure of obesity. They found 15 percent were at risk for becoming overweight and 13 were overweight.
When they compared the sleep patterns among these groups, they found children who were overweight slept about 22 minutes less per night than normal-weight children. They also had shorter REM sleep, less eye activity during REM sleep and a longer wait before the first REM period.
After adjusting for other factors, they found one hour less of total sleep doubled the odds of being overweight, and one-hour less of REM sleep tripled the odds.
"Although the precise mechanisms are currently under investigation, the association between short sleep duration and overweight may be attributed to the interaction of behavioral and biological changes as a result of sleep deprivation," Liu and colleagues wrote.
They said sleep loss causes changes in hormone levels that may affect hunger. It also gives a person more time in which to eat, and makes a person sleepy during the day, which may make them less likely to exercise.
Liu said more research is needed to understand changes in the metabolism that occur when children and teens get too little sleep.
They noted that the obesity rate has more than tripled among children aged 6 to 11 years in the past 30 years, and about 17 percent of U.S. adolescents are now overweight or obese.
Given this, the researchers think doctors, schools and families should step in to ensure that children get enough sleep.
Liu suggests parents establish regular bedtime and wake up times at both weekdays and weekends, improve the sleep environment and address any sleep disorders such as sleep apnea that may be keeping children from getting the sleep they need.
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