Women who sleep less are more likely to gain weight

　　Adults who sleep shorter hours each night female , the rate of weight gain will exceed that of women who sleep longer.

　　Research shows that women who sleep 5 to 6 hours a night gain weight much faster than those who sleep 7 hours a night. A 16-year follow-up study found that adult women who slept five hours or less each night were on average about 2.3 pounds heavier than those who slept seven hours.

　　Adult women who sleep 6 hours a night weigh about 1.5 pounds more than women who sleep 7 hours. Among women who gained 33 pounds, the vast majority slept only five hours a night, followed by those who slept six hours a night.

　　The American Thoracic Society recently held an international symposium in San Diego, and Dr. Sanjay Patel from Cleveland, Ohio, presented a research report. Patel said in the report that the shorter the sleep time at night for middle-aged women, the faster they will gain weight and the greater the likelihood of obesity later in life.

　　The data cited by Patel in the report came from a previous study healthy Nursing follow-up study. Beginning in 1976, researchers followed 68,183 women aged 30 to 55. Beginning in 1986, researchers asked people to report the approximate amount of sleep they got each night, and then to report their weight every two years for the next 16 years.

　　But so far, researchers haven't figured out exactly what causes this result. They have been wondering whether healthy sleep habits are related to weight gain, or other factors caused by adequate sleep are related to weight gain. The report did not answer this question, but the researchers said that they will continue to conduct research to find out the reasons and mechanisms why sleep time affects weight.