Poor REM sleep associated with obesity in children
- Published: 05 August 2008 10:15
- Author: Richard Staines
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- Last Updated: 05 August 2008 10:21
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Children and teenagers who spend less time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, may be more likely to be overweight, a study has shown.
The US researchers studied 335 children aged seven to 17 and monitored sleep through polysomnography, which assesses sleep time, time spent in REM sleep and other variables.
Weight and height were measured to calculate BMI.
A total of 49 participants (14.6%) were at risk of becoming overweight and 45 (13.4%) were overweight.
Those who were overweight slept about 22 minutes per night and had lower sleep efficiency, the percentage of time in bed that in an individual is asleep.
They also had shorter REM sleep, less eye activity during REM sleep and a longer wait before REM sleep began.
Children experiencing one hour less of total sleep were twice as likely to be overweight and those who lost an hour of REM sleep were three times more likely to be overweight.
Authors wrote: 'Given the fact that the prevalence of overweight among children and adolescents continues to increase and chronic sleep insufficiency becomes more prevalent in modern society, family- and school-based sleep interventions that aim to enhance sleep hygiene and increase sleep duration may have important public health implications for the prevention and intervention of obesity and type 2 diabetes in children.'
Archives of General Psychiatry (2008) 65: 924-932
