Mental Health, Obesity, and a Good Night’s Sleep
February 24th, 2011
As obesity rates continue to grow among children, adolescents, and adults, health care workers are exploring the full range of life experience that comes with obesity. It’s not difficult to imagine that obesity and depression may be related: physical well-being influences mood and physical appearance influences both self-esteem and social acceptance. But Christine Calamro, PhD, CRNP from the University of Maryland’s School of Nursing has found another interesting connection in a recent study. She found that children who lack enough sleep are more likely to be obese than, say, those who excessively watch television. In addition, children who lack sleep are also more likely to be depressed. Lack of sleep can prevent the body from regulating, recovering, and balancing itself, which may make both depression and obesity more likely as a result.
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that is terrible news! my ten year old twins always have trouble with sleep and I just don’t know what to do.tried reading stories,tried to make them go to bed at different times but nothing works.I have always thought this is all a part of growing up because a lot of kids have trouble falling asleep(falling asleep later means less sleep time because of school).what is the remedy to this?
Problems work together so well in trying to get the better of us. One problem like a lack of sleep would give rise to problems in mental health and this triggers off obesity problem! We need to learn to develop our medicines to counter this ‘strategy’ of problems.
If I had known that all it takes for me to be a healthy weight would be to go to bed earlier at night I would have gone to bed at my kids bedtime a long time ago! :)
Does this mean we need to get enough sleep at one stretch in the night or does it mean we can get just enough sleep in the night and then maybe take a nap in the afternoon and the benefits will remain the same?
If the latter is true it will definitely be beneficial to a lot more people because their schedule may not allow them to have enough sleep at one go,in the night.
I’ve heard other of other studies that suggested a link between obesity and lack of sleep. In fact, I’m a night owl, and I’ve often wondered if that isn’t part of my own lifelong struggle with weight and depression.
Debra Stang
Alliant Professional Networking Specialist
A Great Source for Online CE
So much great information with this one! What encouragement for parents looking to take away screen time and instill good sleep habits in their kids and knowing that doing these things are things that are going to make their children healthier and happier throughout their lives. Sometimes it is so tempting to let our kids be on the schedule that they want to be on and not the one that they really need to be on for their own health. This is the encouragement that many of us need to justify that we are doing the right thing for them and that we do not have to 2nd guess ourselves all of the time about it.
What is it about sleep that is beneficial when it comes to losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight? Would that have to do with hormones and stuff that the body secretes or releases?
I see many kids who just really look like they could use more sleep but the parents are more concerned with their own schedules than they are with that of the children. People should really think long and hard about these kinds of things before they have kids.
Again we have researchers telling us obesity is linked to everything under the sun. I’m pretty sure I would be depressed if I was obese and I wasn’t getting any sleep. Doesn’t being overweight suppress your airways in some way too when you lay down? That would disrupt your sleep all night.
They’re not very fast on making that link. I read in the news about six years ago that obesity was linked to a lack of sleep. Before you know it they’ll be linking it to the room temperature you sleep in.
Lack of sleep linked to depression, that I can understand perfectly. But being obese? Weight gain happens when you eat more calories than you burn off. That’s it. You might as well link obesity to McDonalds.
@naomi– kids will NOT sleep if they’re not tired. No exceptions. Find a way to tire them out and they’ll sleep like rocks for the night. There are plenty of ways to do that. Get them out in the fresh air and keep them active.
@Sandy “We need to learn to develop our medicines to counter this ‘strategy’ of problems.”
Or we can stop relying on pills. Commonsense should prevail. If you’re not getting enough sleep, then go to bed early and stop drinking caffeine after 7pm. It’s not that difficult.
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