▎ WuXi AppTec content team editor
At present, many people are facing the problem of lack of sleep, and long-term lack of sleep can significantly affect people's physiological and mental health. Since adolescents are in the process of developing at a high rate of physical development, this situation can have more serious consequences between them. Past studies have found a link between sleep deprivation and poor mental health, poor academic performance, and an increased risk of behavioral problems in adolescents.
What's even more frightening is that the phenomenon of adolescent sleep deprivation has become very common, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, high school students recommend 8 hours of sleep per night, but only 27% of them do this. According to a new study from Brigham Young University, the remaining more than 70 percent of adolescents are leading to even worse news that sleep deprivation can significantly increase their weight gain and risk of metabolic diseases.
The team recruited a total of 93 teens who slept only 6 and a half hours a day for a week and then returned to 9 and a half hours of sleep a day the following week. During this time, the researchers monitored the teenagers' caloric intake, nutrition and food types.
After a period of observation, the researchers found that when teenagers slept only 6 and a half hours a day, they would consume more foods that can quickly raise blood sugar, such as foods high in carbs or foods with a lot of added sugar. This behavior of eating high-calorie foods begins to diverge between the two sets of sleep patterns after 9 p.m.
In addition, sleeping less not only consumes more sugar, but also significantly reduces the intake of fruits and vegetables throughout the day. But this type of behavior changes positively when it turns to 9 hours of sleep.
Image credit: 123RF
It is worth mentioning that sleeping more or less does not affect the total calorie intake of teenagers every day, but sleeping less will significantly increase the frequency of eating "junk food". Researchers believe that adolescents who sleep less often need to quickly replenish energy to maintain energy, so they will choose foods with high sugar content.
So what are the consequences of such a high-frequency intake of high-carb foods, according to the results of the analysis, in the case of lack of sleep, adolescents will consume an additional 12 grams of sugar a day. The researchers calculated that according to the student's 180 days a year in school, if the time of sleep is insufficient, then the annual intake of more than 2 kilograms of sugar will be consumed.
The professor noted that childhood obesity has become an increasingly common epidemic, but that the current intervention strategies have rarely taken into account sleep quality. "If we really want to find strategies to keep teens at a healthy weight, the first thing is to give them plenty of sleep." Study lead author Dr. Kara Duraccio said.