what has enough sleep got to do with good body shape?

Answer 1

Proper rest is real important in maintaining healthy weight. I have sleep apnea. and it greatly affects my weight. Also it is a tremendous stress on my heart, due to the extra weight and the "stopped" breathing during the night. It is also self full filling, I am so tired during the day from lack of sleep it is hard to exercise. And I have to have a nap every day due to being so tired all the time.

BTW: My family is quite thin, I developed the sleep apnea and have been fighting weight gain ever since. I was thin even after giving birth three times, developed sleep apnea after.

Peace.

Answer 2

This is a recent article from the Daily Telegraph (UK)

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Lack of sleep 'may help make youngsters obese'

By Celia Hall
Last Updated: 1:52am BST 20/10/2006

Lack of sleep could be contributing to the rise in obesity in children, a researcher says today.
Dr Sharad Taheri, of the Henry Wellcome Institute, University of Bristol, says children are staying up to watch television, talk to friends on their mobiles and use their computers.
"Sleep is probably not the only answer to the obesity pandemic but its effect should be taken seriously, as even small changes in energy balance are beneficial," he says in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
He advocates creating ''calm environments" for children" by taking their gadgets out of the bedroom, including computers and televisions.
He also suggests exercise, at least two hours before bedtime, and not eating meals near bedtime.
In his review of published studies, Dr Taheri says levels of ghrelin, a hormone released by the stomach to signal hunger, were found to be 15 per cent higher in people who had only five hours sleep a night compared with those who slept for eight.
Lack of sleep can also lead to tiredness during the day, making it difficult to take exercise.
Another study showed that insufficient sleep in 30-month-old infants was linked to an increase in obesity at seven. Two or three nights of sleep restriction can also have a "profound effect" on young adults, Dr Taheri says.

Answer 3

Nothing really but it's very good for your overall health in general.
Getting enough sleep is required to keep your immune system in fighting shape. Conversely, your immune defense will be increasingly compromised if you accumulate sleep debt. As little as one hour less sleep per night than needed can make a difference in the ability of your immune system to fight off illnesses.

Sleeping too little could be a potential trigger for heart attacks, or heart disease in general. Your body experiences many changes within various sleep cycles as well as between sleeping and waking.. For instance, during the active, or rapid-eye-movement (REM) phase of sleep, your blood pressure increases and your heart beats faster. And, right before you awaken, a cocktail of stress hormones, such as adrealine and cortisol, all pour into your bloodstream.

For people who have some type of heart disease or underlying risk factor like hypertension, such fluctuations may create some stress on the heart even if they are well-rested. However, when you are sleep-deprived, the stress could be even greater.

During shortened sleep, your heart might have to work harder, constricting blood vessels and increasing blood pressure even more, which could conceivably result in a heart attack or stroke. For people with sleep apnea, a condition in which the airway is obstructed during sleep and breathing stops several times during the night, the risk for sleep-related heart problems appears particularly critical.

Persons with diabetes also want to be diligent about getting adequate sleep. Diabetes can greatly increase the risk for vascular diseases.

Diabetes is characterized by excessive levels of sugar in the blood. What many people may consider a decent night's sleep might not be enough to sufficiently clear sugar from the bloodstream.

Researchers at the University of Chicago and other institutions have noted a possible connection between sleep deprivation and hormone-mediated conditions, diabetes included. A chronic lack of sleep, even just an hour or two a night, may make you more vulnerable to certain conditions as the years pass.

Finally, a person who is not well-rested is not able to think as clearly as one who is fully rested. It could be that a stressful situation is preventing restful sleep and/or interfering with clear thinking.

Also, the mind continues to function during sleep. The old advice to "sleep on it for awhile" when trying to solve a problem is sound advice. It is not uncommon for a person to go to sleep contemplating a problem and wake up with a solution to the problem.

Perhaps one of the most important reasons to get enough sleep is simply to put you in a better mood. Tired people are often cranky people. If you aren't interested in getting enough sleep to protect your health, at least get enough sleep that you're not a pain to be around.

Answer 4

People chronically lacking sleep have a harder time keeping weight down. With good sleep, one is more energized during the day, maintaining a higher metabolic rate.

Answer 5

hmm I cant rmeebr exaclty how many but while you sleep u loose so many calories =, so the more you sleep the more you loose, plus you feel like oyuhave more energy to get out adn about to do excersize.

Answer 6

if you don't get enough sleep, you won't have the energy to exercise properly, your mind will wander, and you may get hurt.