Even Mild Sleep Deprivation May Lead to Weight Gain
Even Mild Sleep Deprivation May Lead to Weight Gain
即使是轻微的睡眠不足也可能导致体重增加
Many studies examining the link between sleep deprivation and obesity have focused on severe sleep deprivation, such as restricting participants’ sleep to about four hours a night. These studies suggest that this may lead to increased appetite and overeating, which in turn could contribute to weight gain. 许多研究睡眠不足与肥胖之间联系的研究，都集中在严重的睡眠剥夺上，例如将参与者的睡眠时间限制在每晚四小时左右。这些研究表明，这可能会导致食欲增加和暴饮暴食，进而可能导致体重增加。
Because very few people can endure such severe sleep restrictions for more than a few days, though, the practical utility of this research is limited, and it hasn’t necessarily clarified whether more common and milder types of sleep deprivation, such as getting five to six hours of sleep per night, actually lead to weight gain. 然而，由于很少有人能连续几天忍受如此严重的睡眠限制，这些研究的实际应用价值有限，且并未明确更常见、更轻微的睡眠不足（例如每晚睡眠五到六小时）是否真的会导致体重增加。
This is the backdrop for a recent study by a research team at Columbia University’s Vagelos School of Medicine, which revealed that chronic, mild sleep deprivation—which is estimated to affect about 30 percent of adults—can lead to weight gain. 这就是哥伦比亚大学瓦格洛斯医学院（Vagelos School of Medicine）研究团队近期一项研究的背景。该研究揭示，慢性轻度睡眠不足（据估计影响约 30% 的成年人）会导致体重增加。
“Our study shows that getting adequate sleep may help reduce the risk of weight gain and obesity-related conditions like heart disease and diabetes,” explained Marie-Pierre St-Onge, a professor at Columbia University specializing in nutritional medicine, in a release. 哥伦比亚大学营养医学教授 Marie-Pierre St-Onge 在一份新闻稿中解释道：“我们的研究表明，充足的睡眠可能有助于降低体重增加以及心脏病和糖尿病等肥胖相关疾病的风险。”
Less Sleep, More Weight
睡眠越少，体重越重
St-Onge and her research team studied 95 adults who typically slept at least seven hours a day and had cardiovascular and metabolic risks. These participants were asked to delay their bedtime by 90 minutes for six weeks, and their sleep duration and physical activity were recorded using wrist-worn monitors. St-Onge 和她的研究团队对 95 名通常每天至少睡眠七小时且存在心血管和代谢风险的成年人进行了研究。这些参与者被要求在六周内将就寝时间推迟 90 分钟，研究人员通过腕戴式监测器记录了他们的睡眠时间和身体活动情况。
For another six weeks, the participants maintained their usual sleep schedules. During both periods, the researchers measured the participants’ weight, waist circumference, body composition, and the fasting blood levels of several hormones involved in appetite regulation. 在接下来的六周里，参与者恢复了正常的睡眠时间表。在这两个阶段，研究人员都测量了参与者的体重、腰围、身体成分，以及几种参与食欲调节的激素的空腹血浓度。
Analysis revealed that during the period when bedtime was delayed and sleep duration was reduced by approximately 80 minutes, participants’ average weight increased by about 0.45 kilogram—about a pound—compared to the period when they slept normally. Extrapolating these results over a year, significant weight gain could be associated with chronic sleep deprivation. 分析显示，在推迟就寝时间、睡眠时间减少约 80 分钟的期间，与正常睡眠期间相比，参与者的平均体重增加了约 0.45 公斤（约一磅）。将这些结果推算到一年，慢性睡眠不足可能会导致显著的体重增加。
In addition, during the sleep-restricted period, the average amount of time spent sitting increased by 17 minutes per day. When limited to men and postmenopausal women, sedentary time increased by nearly 30 minutes per day. In other words, even accounting for the longer time spent awake, participants spent more time sitting than when they got enough sleep. 此外，在睡眠受限期间，平均每天久坐的时间增加了 17 分钟。如果仅限于男性和绝经后女性，久坐时间每天增加了近 30 分钟。换句话说，即使考虑到清醒时间变长了，参与者坐着的时间也比睡眠充足时更多。
On the other hand, levels of leptin—a hormone that suppresses appetite—were actually higher during the period of sleep restriction. The theory put forward by studies on severe sleep restriction that disruptions in hormones leads to overeating does not apply, at least as far as leptin is concerned. 另一方面，在睡眠受限期间，瘦素（一种抑制食欲的激素）的水平实际上更高。关于严重睡眠限制的研究提出的“激素紊乱导致暴饮暴食”的理论，至少在瘦素方面并不适用。
The Next Step
下一步研究
A previous study involving a subset of the same participants (38 women) also demonstrated broader health implications. When women at high risk for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases had their sleep reduced by approximately 80 minutes per night over a six-week period, their insulin resistance—a risk factor for type 2 diabetes—increased. This effect was particularly pronounced in postmenopausal women. 之前一项涉及相同参与者子集（38 名女性）的研究也证明了更广泛的健康影响。当患有心血管和代谢疾病高风险的女性在六周内每晚睡眠减少约 80 分钟时，她们的胰岛素抵抗（2 型糖尿病的一个风险因素）有所增加。这种影响在绝经后女性中尤为明显。
Furthermore, another study involving the same participants showed that a mild reduction in sleep duration among men and women at high risk for heart disease caused immune cells in the blood to become more likely to migrate to sites of inflammation. 此外，另一项涉及相同参与者的研究表明，对于心脏病高风险的男女，轻微的睡眠时间减少会导致血液中的免疫细胞更容易迁移到炎症部位。
This study suggests that even mild sleep deprivation—which many people experience on a daily basis—can have measurable effects on weight, sedentary time, and hormones related to appetite. The finding that the accumulation of even slight sleep deficits can pose a health risk challenges modern lifestyles that tend to prioritize other activities over sleep. 这项研究表明，即使是许多人每天都会经历的轻微睡眠不足，也会对体重、久坐时间和与食欲相关的激素产生可测量的影响。即使是轻微的睡眠赤字积累也会构成健康风险，这一发现挑战了现代生活中倾向于将其他活动置于睡眠之上的生活方式。
“All of our findings suggest that insufficient sleep increases the risk of obesity-related conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease,” St-Onge says. “The next step is to understand what health benefits people who are chronically sleep-deprived can gain by improving their sleep duration.” To what extent can reassessing daily sleep duration help with weight management and the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases? Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms involved. “我们所有的研究结果都表明，睡眠不足会增加患 2 型糖尿病和心脏病等肥胖相关疾病的风险，”St-Onge 说。“下一步是了解慢性睡眠不足的人通过改善睡眠时间能获得哪些健康益处。”重新评估每日睡眠时间在多大程度上能有助于体重管理和预防生活方式相关疾病？这需要进一步的研究来了解其中的机制。