The time change has occurred again tonight and, possibly, it will be one of the last in the coming years. At 2 in the morning it will be 3, so we lose an hour of sleep and our circadian rhythm is affected. Can we get fat? Can we blame our overweight on time changes? We are not going to cling to this idea either, but it is true that imbalances can lead to weight gain.
Insomnia is one of the key factors
We all know the effects of not being able to fall asleep and spending hours tossing and turning in bed. Insomnia can appear due to stress, changes in work shifts, partying, jet lag or seasonal time changes. And yes, insomnia can make you gain weight. Rest is just as important as eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly. Besides being one of the best feelings, sleeping like a baby helps us recover and maintain our weight.
A study carried out by the University in Uppsala (Sweden) confirms that not having a restful night's sleep is linked to «an increased risk of numerous metabolic conditions, including obesity, metabolic syndrome, and type II diabetes«.
This research also highlights the importance of small details such as weekly sleep changes or spending more than 5 nights without a good night's sleep. Who hasn't happened to barely step on the bed for a stressful week of work? Or, even, for going on a trip or being at a festival. All of this can increase the risk of gaining weight in healthy people.
Why do metabolic changes occur?
In the aforementioned study, 15 healthy people participated, with a normal weight. They had to carry out two common physical activity and eating sessions. Randomly, the volunteers slept one normal night (minimum 8 hours) and the next they did not sleep at all. The following morning, biopsies of subcutaneous fat and skeletal muscle were performed, since they are two tissues that appear «a disrupted metabolism in cases of obesity and diabetes«. In addition, blood samples were taken to perform «a comparison of the tissue compartments of a number of metabolites, comprising sugar molecules as well as different fats and amino acids«.
With all these data, different molecular analyzes were carried out that confirmed that «sleep loss resulted in a tissue-specific change in DNA methylation, a form of mechanism that regulates gene expression«. This DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification that plays a role in "the regulation of the activation or deactivation of genes in each cell of the body and is affected by both hereditary and environmental factors, such as physical exercise or rest«.
You must take into account anxiety about food
Think about it: when you can't sleep, you start to feel bored and the first thing that comes to mind is to go to the fridge to eat something. Sleep is essential for the body to be able to perform its basic functions and recover from all those that it has performed during the day. If we don't, the metabolism slows down, the ability to burn calories decreases and it will make you eat more at night. Lack of sleep alters the levels of hormones that regulate hunger, appetite, and satiety; That is why we usually resort to foods high in sugar or saturated fat.
So we can say that the time change negatively affects our health, and can make us gain weight, if we don't sleep the necessary hours. Many people link this to spring fatigue, which often leaves them without proper sleep for several days.