I’ve heard before that lack of sleep is connected with obesity, but I was surprised to hear that it also is linked to smoking, drinking alcohol and not being physically active. What’s the story here?

Lack of sleep does appear to be associated with obesity - one theory is that sleep deprivation disrupts production of hormones that regulate appetite. But findings from a door-to-door government survey of 87,000 U.S. adults from 2004 through 2006 suggests that those who get the least sleep are also more likely to put their health at risk by smoking cigarettes, drinking too much alcohol, and not being physically active. In the case of cigarettes and physical inactivity, this was also true for those who slept nine or more hours per night.

The study was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, an arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It doesn't prove that sleep deprivation leads to smoking or alcohol consumption - or vice versa - and it doesn't tell us what other factors might influence these risky health habits. In some cases, depression or stress could be the underlying reasons for not getting enough sleep and for drinking.

But the findings are striking. Here's a summary:

*Smoking:Of those who slept seven to eight hours a night only 18 percent were smokers compared to 31 percent of those who slept less than six hours and 26 percent of those who slept more than nine hours.

*Alcohol:Adults who got the least sleep were slightly more likely to have had five or more drinks in one day than those who got seven to eight hours, but here, the difference was only three percent: 19 percent of those who had a good night's sleep had five or more drinks a day compared to 22 percent of those who slept six hours or less.

*Physical Inactivity:For both men and women regardless of age, those who slept less than six or more than nine hours a night were more likely to be physically inactive than those who slept seven to eight.

*Obesity:The rate of obesity was highest (33 percent) among those who slept less than six hours and lowest (22 percent) among those who slept seven to eight hours a night. This held true for both men and women regardless of age.

Adequate sleep is key to a healthy lifestyle, and accumulating research suggests that it plays an even larger role in health than we once thought. There is more to learn about this subject. I'll keep you posted on developments. Meanwhile, if you're not getting seven to eight hours sleep per night, based on what we now know, it might benefit your weight - and your overall health - to strive for more shut-eye.

以前只聽說睡眠不足與肥胖有關,但是令我驚訝的是它也與吸煙,酗酒和不參加身體鍛煉有關.到底是怎么回事呢?

睡眠不足與肥胖是有關的.一項理論說,睡眠可以減少胃液的分泌.但是根據(jù)美國政府的一項從2004到2006年間,上門訪問87,000個成人的調(diào)查表明,睡眠不足的人和那些吸煙,酗酒,不參加鍛煉的人一樣,是將他們的健康推向危險的邊緣,還有每天睡眠9小時或更長的人也是如此.

這項研究是由國家衛(wèi)生統(tǒng)計中心發(fā)表,這是一個疾病控制與預防中心的政府機構.其實,并沒有證明說睡眠的不足會導致吸煙和喝酒等,反之亦如此,而且也沒有說明哪些因素可能會影響這些不好的習慣.一些例子表明,抑郁和緊張可能是由于沒有足夠的睡眠和良好的飲食.

但是這些發(fā)現(xiàn)引起了爭論,概括如下:

吸煙:那些睡眠在7-8個小時之間的吸煙者有18%,少于6個小時的有31%,而26%的吸煙者的睡眠時間是多余9個小時的.

喝酒:那些在白天喝五杯或是更多的成年人比那些睡眠時間在7-8個小時的人的睡眠時間只少一些,而它們之間相差為3%:那些在白天有五杯或是更多的,有19%的人表示睡眠良好,而22%的睡眠時間是6個小時或是更少.

運動:部分年齡,不管是男性還是女性,那些睡眠時間少于6個小時或是多于9個小時的比那些睡眠時間在7-8個小時的人是少參加運動的.

肥胖:肥胖在那些睡眠少于6個小時的人群當中占有最高的比例(33%),而在睡眠時間7-8個小時的人群中所占的比例是最小的(22%),不份年齡,這在男性和女性之間都是確實存在的.

充足的睡眠是健康生活的關鍵,諸多事實告訴我們,它比我們過去所認為還要重要.想要了解更多的這個主題,我將會繼續(xù)發(fā)表.同時,如果你每晚的睡眠是不足7-8個小時,請按我們所說的去做,這對你的體重是有好處的-還有你的健康-請盡量多閉眼吧.