Research Highlights:
- In a 12-month weight loss program, those with higher sleep health scores (based on regularity, satisfaction, alertness, timing, efficiency, and duration) were more likely to follow Sleep health scores were lower for the caloric intake and exercise portions of the plan.
- Those with better sleep health attended more of the program's group sessions.
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DALLAS, March 3, 2023 — People who sleep regularly and undisturbed are more likely to exercise while trying to lose weight, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health conference. and Diet Plan Doing Better 2023 Scientific Sessions. The conference will be held in Boston, February 28-March 3, 2023, and will provide the latest scientific knowledge on population-based health and wellness and implications for lifestyle and cardiometabolic health.
“Focusing on getting a good night's sleep — seven to nine hours at night, a regular wake-up time, waking up refreshed and alert throughout the day — can be an important behavior that can help People stick to their physical activity and dietary modification goals.” E. Kline, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Health and Human Development, University of Pittsburgh. “One of our previous studies reported that better sleep health was associated with significant reductions in body weight and fat during a one-year behavioral weight loss program.”
The researchers examined whether good sleep health was related to the degree to which people adhered to various lifestyle changes prescribed in a 12-month weight loss plan. The weight loss program included 125 adults (mean age 50 years, 91% female, 81% white) who met criteria for being overweight or obese (BMI 27-44) without any diet or physical activity requiring medical supervision.
Sleep habits were measured at program initiation, 6 months, and 12 months using patient questionnaires, sleep diaries, and 7-day readings from wrist-worn devices recording sleep, waking activity, and rest. These measures were used to rate each participant as “good” or “poor” on six measures of sleep: regularity; satisfaction; alertness; timing; efficiency (percentage of time spent in bed while actually asleep); and duration. A composite sleep health score was calculated for each participant on a scale of 0-6, with one point for each “good” sleep health indicator, with higher scores indicating better sleep health.
Adherence to the weight loss program was measured by percentage participation in group intervention sessions; percentage of days each participant consumed 85-115% of daily recommended calories; and change in daily duration of moderate or vigorous physical activity. Participants had an average sleep health score of 4.5 out of 6 at study entry, 6 months, and 12 months. Participants self-reported their calorie intake daily using a mobile phone app, and researchers used a waist-worn accelerometer to measure participants' physical activity at the beginning of the study, and at 6 and 12 months, for one week at a time.
After adjusting for sleep health scores for age, sex, race, and whether or not a partner shared a bed, the researchers found that better sleep health was associated with higher group interval meeting attendance, adherence to caloric intake goals, and improved time spent on moderate exercise. Intensive physical activity. They found:
- Participants attended 79% of group sessions in the first six months and 62% of group sessions in the second six months.
- Participants met their daily calorie intake goals on 36 percent of days in the first six months and 21 percent of days in the second six months.
- During the first six months, the total time participants spent doing moderate-intensity physical activity increased by 8.7 minutes per day, but in the second six months, the total time they spent doing moderate-intensity exercise decreased by 3.7 minutes.
Over the next six months, reductions in group meeting attendance, calorie intake and moderate-intensity activity time were to be expected, Klein said. “As people continue with long-term behavioral weight loss interventions, it is normal for adherence to weight loss behaviors to decline,” he said.
Also, while there was an association between better sleep health scores and increased physical activity, it wasn't strong enough to be statistically significant, meaning the researchers couldn't rule out that the results were chance.
“We hypothesized that sleep was related to lifestyle changes; however, we did not expect to see sleep health correlate with all three Our measures of lifestyle change,” he said. “Although we did not intervene in sleep health in this study, these results suggest that optimizing sleep may lead to better adherence to lifestyle changes. “
Limitations of the study include that it did not incorporate any interventions to help participants improve their sleep, that the study sample was not recruited based on participants' sleep health characteristics, and that the overall sample population had relatively good sleep health at baseline. The sample was also predominantly white and female, so it's unclear whether the results generalize to more diverse populations.
“One question of interest for future research is whether if we improve a person's sleep health, we can increase adherence to lifestyle changes — and ultimately increase weight loss,” Klein said.
The researchers' second question was how to structure this intervention to improve sleep.
“It's unclear whether it's best to optimize sleep before rather than during a weight loss attempt. In other words, should clinicians tell their patients to focus on getting better and more regular sleep before they start trying to lose weight, or Should one try to improve their sleep while changing their diet and activity level?” Klein said.
Improving sleep health is something everyone can do to improve cardiovascular health and is a key component of the American Heart Association's Essentials for Life 8. Sleep was added in 2022 as an eighth component of optimal cardiovascular health, which includes eating healthy foods, staying physically active, not smoking, getting enough sleep, maintaining a healthy weight and controlling cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure levels. Cardiovascular disease kills more lives in the United States each year than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease, according to the American Heart Association's 2023 Statistical Update.
“There are over 100 studies linking sleep to weight gain and obesity, but this is a great example of how sleep is not only related to weight itself, but also to what we do to help manage our own weight. This may Because sleep affects what causes hunger and cravings, your metabolism and your ability to regulate your metabolism, and your ability to make healthy choices in general,” said MTR's Michael A. Grandner, Ph.D. Grandner is director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona, director of the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, and co-author of the Association's Vital Basics 8 Cardiovascular Health Score. “Studies like this really show that all These things are all interconnected, and sometimes sleep is something we can start to control, and it can help open the door to other pathways to health.”
Co-authors are Christopher C. Imes, PhD, RN; Susan M. Sereika, PhD; Daniel J. Buysse, MD; Bonny Rockette-Wagner, PhD; Zhadyra Bizhanova, PhD; The author's disclosures are listed in the abstract.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, funded the research.
Research statements and conclusions presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions are those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of the Association. The Association makes no representations or warranties as to their accuracy or reliability. Abstracts presented at the Society's scientific meetings are not peer-reviewed, but are curated by an independent review panel and considered based on their potential to increase the diversity of scientific issues and perspectives discussed at the meeting. The findings are considered preliminary until published as a full manuscript in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
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Additional resources:
The American Heart Association's EPI/LIFESTYLE 2023 Scientific Sessions is the world's premier conference dedicated to the latest advances in population-based science.meeting will be held Tuesday-Friday, February 28-March 3, 2023 at the Omni Boston Seaport in Boston, MA. The main goal of the conference is to promote the development and application of translational science and population science to prevent heart disease and stroke and promote cardiovascular health. Conferences focus on risk factors, obesity, nutrition, physical activity, genetics, metabolism, biomarkers, subclinical disease, clinical disease, healthy populations, global health, and prevention-oriented clinical trials. The Epidemiology and Prevention and Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health (Lifestyle) Committees jointly plan the EPI/Lifestyle 2023 Scientific Sessions.Follow the conference on Twitter #EPILifestyle23.
About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is an indomitable force dedicated to creating a world of longer, healthier lives. We are committed to ensuring equitable health in all communities. Through partnerships with numerous organizations, supported by millions of volunteers, we fund innovative research, advocate for public health and share lifesaving resources. For nearly a century, the Dallas-based organization has been a leading source of health information. at heart.org, Facebook, Twitter Or call 1-800-AHA-USA1.
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