You may not realise it but skipping sleep can lead to more intake of calories next day according to research.
According to a new study published in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition researchers tried to zero in on a precise number of calories people intake when they are tired.
Over the years, proper sleep is termed as one of the pillars for healthy living along with exercise and healthy eating in the quest to lose/control weight.
Earlier studies did link lack of sleep to obesity and type 2 diabetes but this is the first time number of caloriec effect is calculated in connection with lack of sleep.
To get the results they collected 11 previous studies that looked at partial sleep deprivation and calorie consumption.
The study included 172 people between the ages of 18 to 50 which included both male and female and of different weight category (normal to obese).
These people included people who did not get enough sleep for 7 to 12 hours in bed at night and sleep deprived groups who slept for 3 ½ to 5 ½ hours in bed.
On an average researchers found that sleep deprived people consumed 385 calories extra per day which is equivalent of four and half slices of bread.
Some researchers also speculated that lack of sleep affect hormones related to hunger, such as leptin and ghrelin.
The pre-conceived notion that staying up late would burn calories is not true. Moreover, not getting enough sleep over a period of time could be a reason for weight gain.
But none of the studies lasted more than two weeks thus making it difficult to understand if extra calories lead to extra pounds as well.