Night-owls beware, going to bed late could make you pack on the pounds
Observational study: A study in which the subject is observed to see if there is a relationship between two or more things (eg: the consumption of diet drinks and obesity). Observational studies cannot prove that one thing causes another, only that they are linked.
People: This is a study based on research using people.
Shining a light on night-owls, international research has found that going to bed late and having less than five hours of sleep at night could be increasing their risk of obesity. The researchers characterised a bedtime of midnight or later as a late-night, and suggest that staying awake at night may suppress the secretion of melatonin which is associated with an increased risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases and cancers. The study also had bad news for nappers, which found that longer daytime napping was also associated with a higher risk of obesity, but the researchers suggest that this could be because a daytime nap may occur more often due to a late night.
Journal/conference: JAMA Network Open
Link to research (DOI): 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13775
Organisation/s: Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
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