Lack of sleep tied to retained pregnancy weight
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Insufficient sleep during the months after childbirth may play a role in the retention of weight gained during pregnancy, research suggests.
“Even relatively short periods of sleep deprivation (6 months after delivery) may influence weight,” Dr. Erica P. Gunderson told Reuters Health.
Gunderson, an epidemiologist with Kaiser Permanente, in Oakland, California, and colleagues found that women who got less than an average of 5 hours of sleep daily during the first 6 months after childbirth were likely to weigh at least 5 kilograms (about 11 pounds) more than their pre-pregnancy weight at one year after childbirth.
The researchers assessed pre- and post-pregnancy weight among 940 women in eastern Massachusetts and determined sleep patterns through self-reported questionnaires and in-person interviews, they explain in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
Overall, 12 percent of the women reported 5 hours or less sleep per day while 30, 34, and 24 percent, respectively, received 6, 7, and 8 or more hours a day.
The women who slept 5 hours or less, on average, during the first 6 months after childbirth were 2.3 times more likely than those who got 7 hours of sleep to retain at least 5 kilograms of weight at one year.
This likelihood rose to three-fold after the investigators adjusted for factors such as the mother’s pre-pregnancy body mass index, diet, breastfeeding pattern, physical activity level, number of children, race, age, and education level.
“Getting enough sleep may be as important as a healthy diet and regular physical activity in preventing excess weight retention after childbirth,” Gunderson said.
Further research should investigate specific characteristics of women who get less sleep, and whether sleeping during the day makes up for the lack of nighttime sleep, the researchers note.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, January 15, 2008
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