A new study offers two ways for someone on a diet to make the battle of the bulge more effective. It found that people who sleep six to eight hours a night and who have lower stress levels shed more pounds than other people. While much health advice centers on curbing stress and getting a good night’s sleep, this is a nice, simple reminder that you can affect your body weight outside of what you eat and how much you exercise.
People trying drop their bathroom scale number by at least 10 pounds are more likely to do so if they have lower stress levels and sleep more than six hours a night. But the catch is: no more than eight hours a night. The study was published last week in the “International Journal of Obesity.”
Nearly 500 participants took part in the study, which measured whether sleep, stress, depression, TV viewing, and computer screen time were linked with shedding pounds. In the first phase, people were asked to lose at least 10 pounds over six months. If they did, it was on to the second phase, which tested acupressure for a full year. (We’ll wait on those results.)
In that first phase, all participants were advised to eat 500 fewer calories a day, keep a low-fat, low-sugar diet with lots of fruits and vegetables (the cornerstone of healing foods), increase physical activity to three hours a week, and keep a food diary. They also reported levels of insomnia, stress and depression and TV/computer use. It turned out that sleep and stress were the two factors that helped shed pounds.
Nearly three-quarters of those who slept between six and eight hours a night and who had less stress moved to the trial’s second phase. They were twice as likely to have shed the 10 pounds than others were. These people were all motivated to slim down, so motivation remains a big key for dieters.
In order to reduce stress in one’s life, exercise, meditation practices such as yoga, going for walks, and doing things you find enjoyable will help.
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