A dream come true Part 1

[Guest guest]

The secret to losing weight could be a good night's sleep, writes

Belinda Cranston.

Losing weight and keeping it off is as easy as snuggling beneath a

duvet and dozing. It may sound like an excuse to lie around, but

scientific research continues to suggest sleep is just as important

to fending off obesity as diet and exercise.

At Columbia University a study found people who slept four hours or

less a night were 73 per cent more likely to be obese than those who

slept between seven and nine hours a night.

Aside from there being more opportunities to put food and drink down

your throat when you are awake, Dr Naughton, a practitioner

at Melbourne's Alfred Hospital Sleep Clinic, says sleep deprivation

changes eating behaviour and appetite.

" We know a normal person needs eight to nine hours [sleep]. If they

get by on less than seven hours they may use food to overcome

fatigue. "

Former Adelaide sleep scientist Dr Adam Fletcher agrees. " We

definitely crave fat and sugar more when we are tired and sleep

deprived. "

A lack of sleep can set up a whole chain of biochemical events in

your body, throwing it off track.

Collaborating with Fletcher and dietitian Dr Clare , health

writer Jane Worthington's seductively titled book The Doona Diet -

Sleep yourself Slim explores the relationship between poor sleep and

a cascade of inter-related problems including obesity, snoring,

diabetes, and sleep apnoea, where sufferers stop breathing for up to

40 or 60 times per night.

As explains, when we are asleep we get a surge in growth

hormones.

" People who do not sleep well have lower levels of the hormones

leptin and cortisol. If the level of leptin circulating in the body

is decreased, the brain tells the body it is hungry when it is not, "

she says.

Cortisol is necessary to help regulate blood glucose levels. " If you

have impaired blood glucose levels your blood sugar levels stay

higher, " warns .

This in turn puts more pressure on the relationship between blood

sugar levels and insulin, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

According to The Doona Diet and other reports, diabetes is

Australia's fastest growing chronic disease. In the past 20 years,

the number of Australian adults with the condition has

tripled. " People with excessive daytime sleepiness have a prevalence

of type 2 diabetes. It is so high, anyone in this group should be

screened for it, " says .

The diet plan prescribed by in The Doona Diet is low in fat

and high in complex carbohydrate. Supper is encouraged at least one

hour before bedtime " to help induce sleep " and " to fuel the brain

and body overnight " .

" It may include a slice of toast or pear with a glass of warm milk

and Milo, " says .

While diet is important in preventing weight gain, says an

emphasis on the sleep routine, rather than on special foods,

characterises The Doona Diet. " It's getting your sleep right so your

hormones aren't making you gain weight, " she says.

Essential to getting a good night's sleep is the removal of

television sets, video games, PCs, mobile phones and 'overly

thrilling books that can't be put down' from the bedroom. " Such

distractions could cause you to lose up to a month's worth of sleep

in a year, " warns the book's Dr Fletcher, who is now based in

Washington DC.

Also weighing in on the link between obesity and sleep deprivation

is Dr Brendon Yee, a sleep and respiratory physician at the Royal

Prince Alfred Hospital.

Yee and his colleagues conducted a weight-loss program in a group of

100 obese male subjects with sleep apnoea.

The study required subjects to participate in an exercise program,

eat a low calorie diet, and take the drug sibutramine, used for the

treatment of obesity.

" The major findings so far reveal that those who lost 10 per cent of

their body weight also had a 30 per cent reduction in sleep apnoea.

We don't know exactly what causes this. It may be due to a reduction

of fat around the neck and improvement in upper airway anatomy, "

says Yee.

One of his colleagues at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Dr

Buchanan, believes an unusual sleep-related eating disorder is

behind the fatigue of some people who have unexplained weight gain.

It involves sleepers rising from their beds to consume large

quantities of whatever they find, including whole tubs of ice cream.

" They engage in gorging behaviour and return to bed without any

knowledge of what they have done in the night, " says Buchanan.

Fortunately, he believes the alarming condition affects very few

people. " It's rare in the overall scheme of things. "

Where the problem does exist, Buchanan says it's best to keep

kitchen cupboards and pantries locked at night.

For other sleep related problems, The Doona Diet makes several

recommendations. Placing a tennis ball in a sock or stocking and

sewing it on to the back of a snorer's pyjamas is one suggestion.

With snoring being prevalent in people who sleep on their backs, the

idea behind the strategy is that when snorers roll onto their backs

they will feel uncomfortable and roll back on their sides.

People who snore in any position, and especially people who suffer

from sleep apnoea, may require guidance from a sleep specialist

and/or a dietitian. Surgical procedures are effective in some cases,

especially where there is a nasal obstruction.