Getting enough sleep each night is critical to your overall health and impacts many of your bodily functions—including your mood, mental clarity, immune system, and disease risk factor. Furthermore, sleep also plays a vital role in managing your weight as it influences your hormones and metabolism. Research shows that staying up late affects your weight and your overall health.
Yet, not only can a lack of sleep lead to weight gain, but carrying around excess weight can cause sleep troubles – such as sleep apnea. Therefore, individuals who are not getting enough sleep are at risk of becoming obese, and once obese, those individuals will have a more difficult time getting quality sleep.
Individuals who suffer from sleep deprivation can experience adverse side effects related to their health over time. When we talk about being sleep deprived, we refer to not going through enough REM and non-REM sleep cycles, which ultimately affect your ability to function at your optimal point throughout the day.
How Staying Up Late Affects Your Weight
When you do not get enough sleep each night, your risk of developing diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, arthritis, an overactive thyroid, and obesity increases significantly. Many studies have shown sleep deprivation increases the risk of heart disease by nearly 50% and triples the risk of type 2 diabetes.
However, it is not just sleeping deprivation that can lead to excess weight gain but also staying up late.
Research studies have found that individuals who stayed up late were more likely to eat large dinners and use tobacco or alcohol products, ultimately putting them at a higher risk of developing health problems down the road.