children who went to bed late tended to come from poor socioeconomic backgrounds

A new study done in Australia shows that it is not just adults who sleep less who are more likely to be obese but also teenagers. The report which was published in the clinical journal Sleep noted that teenagers who did not get to bed early were also more likely to be overweight when compared to the teenagers who went to bed at a sensible time. Interestingly this report did not just focus on the amount of sleep that the teenagers got but even noted that those teenagers who went to bed late and then got up late were also more likely to have a weight problem even if they got the same amount of sleep as those teenagers who went to bed early and got up early.

The researchers looked at 2,200 Australian children between 9 and 16 and carefully examined their sleep patterns, their weight and their activity levels. Dr Carol Maher from the University of South Australia said that the most significant differences in weight were observed between the children who went to bed early and woke up early compared to the children who slept late and woke up late. Dr Maher said that she and her colleagues were surprised by the results because the same amount of sleep was observed in both groups.

As expected it was seen that there were some big differences in the overall daily activity of those children who got up early, for example the children who got up early tended to play more sports and to watch less TV. Nevertheless Dr Maher did say that more research needed to be done to look at the connection between sleeping patterns and weight problems because it was not clear whether the late sleeping was the cause of less physical activity, or whether the lack of physical activity was causing them to sleep later.

It was also noted that the children who went to bed late tended to come from poor socioeconomic backgrounds, which also struggle with unhealthy eating patterns and an excess of fast food. Whatever the case, never underestimate the importance of good sleep. Not only will it make you more productive, alert and healthy it will improve your quality of life and your general well being. If you are trying to lose weight getting a lot of good quality sleep is essential!