Newsflash from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine – you can get a better night’s sleep by losing weight, especially from your midsection.
Johns Hopkins researchers have found that the quality of your sleep can be significantly improved with weight loss. Overall weight loss helps, but what’s even better is if it’s from your belly. Results were obtained from a study that examined participants with Type 2 Diabetes or were pre-diabetic over a six month period. The sleeping habits of the participants were surveyed and body fat (including the amount fat concentrated in their abdominal) was measured at the beginning and end of the study. All the participants experienced an improvement in sleep quality after they lost weight, by up to 20%.
But what’s also interesting is that the way in which the participants lost weight was also examined to see if it would have any impact on the results. The participants were split into two groups: those who were placed on a diet and the other placed on a diet plus exercise program. The study found that both groups, regardless of how they lost weight, lost an average of 15 pounds and about the same amount of belly fat (15%). So, even though one group exercised and dieted, both groups experienced the same benefits of weight loss, reduction in belly fat and improved sleep quality.
Lose weight for better sleep!