Teenagers sleeping less than 7 hours a night would consume 2.5 kg more sugar during a school year.
- According to a French study conducted in 2018, the sleep time of adolescents is 7:17 a.m. on weekdays and 8:27 a.m. on weekends.
- Adolescence is the period of life when we need the most sleep.
- This lack of sleep causes adolescents to consume an average of 12 grams of sugar per day, which is equivalent to consuming an additional 2.5 kg per year.
To recover, reduce stress or even develop cognitive functions, sleeping well is essential for everyone. But getting regular, restorative sleep is all the more important for children and teens because their bodies and minds are going through a period of rapid growth.
To grow well, the adolescent needs more sleep than an adult, a minimum of 8 hours each night and at best 10 hours. Yet many teens don’t get enough sleep. According to a 2018 study by theNational Institute of Sleep and Vigilance, one in five young people aged 15 to 24 sleeps only 5 hours a night. According to this same study, the sleep time of adolescents is 7:17 on weekdays and 8:27 on weekends.
Previous research has linked lack of sleep to an increased risk of poor mental health, poor school performance and behavioral problems. According to this new study, conducted by Brigham Youth University (BYU) attached to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and published in the journal sleepinginsufficient sleep also increases the risk of weight gain and other cardiometabolic diseases in adolescents, because they have poorer eating habits when they sleep less.
“Shortened sleep increases the risk for adolescents to eat more carbohydrates and added sugars and drink more sugary drinks than when they have a healthy amount of sleep”explains Dr. Kara Duraccio, who led the study.
12 grams more sugar consumed each day
The researchers analyzed the sleeping and eating habits of 93 teenagers during two sleep conditions. They first spent six and a half hours each night in bed for one week (short sleep) and then nine and a half hours each night in bed for another week (healthy sleep). The researchers then measured the calorie intake, macronutrient content, types of food and glycemic load of the foods consumed by the teenagers.
The results show that teens with short sleep ate more foods that could cause a quick spike in blood sugar, such as foods high in carbohydrates and added sugar or sugary drinks, than when they had healthy sleep. These changes mostly occurred after 9 p.m. Teens with short sleepers also ate fewer fruits and vegetables throughout the day, compared to those with healthy sleepers.
The researchers noted that the fact of sleeping less, on the other hand, did not encourage adolescents to eat more. “Both groups consumed roughly the same amount of calories. But getting less sleep prompted teens to eat more junk food, Dr. Duraccio finds. We suspect that tired teens are looking for quick bursts of energy to last until they can go to bed, so they are looking for foods high in carbohydrates and added sugars.”
This additional sugar consumption of 12 grams each day could translate to more than 2.5 kilos more sugars absorbed over a year.
“We know pediatric obesity is an epidemic, and we’ve focused on many interventions to try to address it, but sleep isn’t one of the things researchers tend to focus on”, notes Dr. Duraccio. According to her, “sleep health should be integrated into all childhood obesity prevention and intervention modules”.
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