It’s a New Year’s Resolution made by many people each year – to try to lead a healthier lifestyle and lose weight.
And a new study suggests that the key to overhauling your diet could be getting more sleep.
Researchers from King’s College London have found that sleeping for longer each night could help people to reduce their intake of sugary foods and lead a healthier diet.
In the study, the researchers looked at the impact of increasing sleep hours on nutrient intake, and found that extending sleep patterns resulted in a reduction in intake of both sugars and carbohydrates.
Dr Wendy Hall, principal investigator of the study, said: “The fact that extending sleep led to a reduction in intake of free sugars, by which we mean the sugars that are added to foods by manufacturers or in cooking at home as well as sugars in honey, syrups and fruit juice, suggests that a simple change in lifestyle may really help people to consume healthier diets.”
In the study, 21 participants completed a sleep consultation with the aim of extending their time in bed by up to 1.5 hours per night.
The participants were given a list of personalised behaviours to help them get more sleep, including avoiding caffeine before bed and establishing a relaxing routine.
For a week after the consultation, the participants kept sleep and food diaries, and wore motion sensors to assess exactly how long they slept for.
A further 21 control participants received no consultation for comparison.
Results showed that 86 per cent of those who had received sleep advice increased their time in bed, with half increasing their sleep duration.
In contrast, there were no difference seen in the control group.
The researchers also found a link between sleep duration and food choices.
Dr Haya Al Khatibi, lead author of the study, said: “Our results also suggest that increasing time in bed for an hour or so longer may lead to healthier food choices.
“This further strengthens the link between short sleep and poorer quality diets that has already been observed by previous studies.
‘We hope to investigate this finding further with longer-term studies examining nutrient intake and continued adherence to sleep extension behaviours in more detail, especially in populations at risk of obesity or cardio-vascular disease.’
