if you are looking for eat less added sugar, could your nightly habits be sabotaging your progress? a new study In the diary Sleep suggests that his consumption of sugary foods is more likely to increase when you lose sleep staying up late.
To determine how much of a connection there is between foods with added sugar and sleep problems, the researchers looked at the eating patterns of 93 adolescents, including their food choices and daily intake of calories and macronutrients.
The adolescents’ sleep patterns over five nights were also examined. They were pull apart in two groups: those who slept about six and a half hours a night and those who averaged about nine hours of sleep a night. (RELATED: The 100 unhealthiest foods on the planet)
It turned out that both groups consumed about the same number of calories, according to the study’s lead author, Kara Duraccio, PhD, a professor of clinical and developmental psychology at Brigham Young University. However, there was a big difference as to how they got there.
“Reduced sleep increased the risk that adolescents ate more carbohydrates and added sugars and drank more sugar-sweetened beverages than when they were getting a healthy amount of sleep,” Duraccio says. Eat this, not that!. “Basically, less sleep caused them to eat more junk.”
Most likely, teens were gravitating toward these foods as a way to get quick bursts of energy to make up for a lack of sleep, which can cause daytime sleepiness, he adds.
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Although the recent study focused on adolescents, previous research suggests that adults who get little sleep may experience the same effect. for example, a study looking at nearly 19,000 adults in sleep health found that those who slept five hours or less consumed 21% more sugary drinks than those who slept seven to eight hours a night.
The problem also points in the other direction. TO study at Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that low fiber, high saturated fat, and high sugar intake can lead to lighter, less restful sleep, including waking up in the middle of the night more often.
This means that when you sleep less, you’re more likely to eat more sugar, which in turn negatively affects your sleep, creating a vicious cycle that can be difficult to break. To help break that cycle, Duraccio suggests focusing on sleep quality first. Create a solid bedtime habit and make sure you get the recommended amount of nightly sleep every night—tThat’s seven to eight hours for adults and nine hours for teens.
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