Sleep…or Get Fat!

When it came to getting her shut-eye, Goldilocks wanted her mattress just right. Smart girl. Turns out, our stomachs are just as picky.

In a study released this month in the journal Sleep, researchers tracked sleeping patterns and the amount of belly fat gained for five years in subjects younger than 40. Those who slept five hours or less each night showed the greatest accumulation of flab; those who got more than eight hours of rest a night gained slightly less; and those who snoozed between five and eight hours a night? You guessed it. They gained the least.

Though the research isn’t conclusive about overall fat and weight gain, it does substantiate links between lack of sleep and belly fat increase. Researchers aren’t only interested in weight, though; abdominal fat is directly connected to heart disease and diabetes.

The perfect amount of sleep for good health and minimum flesh expansion? Take your cue from Goldilocks. Not too much; not too little. Between five and eight hours a night seems just right.

from reuters.com