Why those who go to bed early are healthier
In a report on sleep and nutrition released exclusively to The Huffington Post, Jawbone UP Fitness trackers from around the world discovered that what time you go to bed says a lot about your lifestyle.
The study found that users who went to bed at a consistent time every night — a time earlier than 11pm — logged fewer calories and ate more nutritious food.
In contrast, “night owls” who go to bed between 11pm and 3am tend to consume more caffeine, alcohol, refined sugars, processed carbs, processed meats and saturated fats than their “early bird” counterparts.
Dr Kiurstin aschbacher, a data scientist at Jawbone, thoerises that going to bed an hour earlier consistently for a year could add up to a loss of four to five pounds without any change to physical activity.
The relationship between getting more sleep and making better food choices is well-documented.
Last year, The American Journal of clinical nutrition found that people who sleep more tend to eat less saturated fat than their sleep dperieved peers. As a group, “night owls” tend to eat less nutritious food and more calories overall than early risers.
It’s not all black and white though, with researchers admitting data is likely skewed as it is taken from devices usually used by “healthy” people.
Dr. Mitesh Patel, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine said it would be a challenge to untangle the cause-and-effect relationship between sleep and nutrition.
“There may be a third factor that impacts both of those,” he said. “Or the relationship could be reversed, such that people who eat less fall asleep earlier.”
The most important points to take away, are that staying up late (into the “snacking” hour), drinking alcohol, and not getting enough sleep, often lead to increase of calories and fatty foods.
Related links:
What you need to know about the latest diet trends
‘Healthy’ foods that could be harming your health
Why it is hard to cut back sugar