Why taking the iPad to bed could make you fat

Lack of sleep caused by the stimulation of electronic devices ranging from portable computers to gaming devices could be fuelling obesity, it is claimed.Even watching TV before dropping off has been linked to sleep difficulties that can trigger health problems, says a new research review from scientists.They are calling on doctors to 'prescribe' a good night's sleep because it may prevent common metabolic disorders, including growing numbers of cases of type 2 diabetes.Millions of Britons - around one in four adults - have sleeping difficulties and up to one in 10 has an insomnia disorder that can affect their everyday lives through fatigue and mood disturbances.Research shows people who have between six and eight hours sleep a night are likely to live longer and have better health, while those getting less than six hours are more at risk of dying prematurely.Scientists at Surrey University found just one week of poor sleep can disrupt hundreds of genes linked to stress, immunity and inflammation.Sleep deprivation has long been known to affect brain function, reducing alertness and cognitive ability, and in recent years has been thought to contribute to physical illnesses.Experts believe poor sleep directly disrupts insulin levels, a hormone that regulates energy through the body's fat cells.A new research review in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal, says experimental studies are showing a direct causal link between sleep loss and the body's ability to metabolise sugar, control food intake, and maintain energy balance.German and Swiss scientists report that disruption of the body's natural sleeping and waking cycle by shift work may contribute to chronic illness and early death.But lifestyle factors in 'globalised 24hour societies' are interfering with people's sleep quotas, claim the scientists, led by Professor Bernd Shultes, from the eSwiss Medical and Surgical Centre in St Gallen.He said 'voluntary sleep curtailment' is commonly caused by the use of technical devices for gaming, online shopping, social networking or watching television.'Programmes of sleep education and cognitive behavioural therapies focusing on improved sleep hygiene might represent promising approaches to induce behavioural changes' he said.Such targeted interventions could help curb the present epidemic of the metabolic syndrome and related diseases.'Ongoing and future studies will show whether interventions to improve sleep duration and quality can prevent or even reverse adverse metabolic traits.'Meanwhile, on the basis of existing evidence, health care professionals can be safely recommended to motivate their patients to enjoy sufficient sleep at the right time of day' he added.Young children who sleep less eat more, which can lead to obesity and related health problems later in life, reports a new study by University College London (UCL) researchers.The study found that 16 month-old children who slept for less than 10 hours each day consumed on average 105kcal more per day than children who slept for more than 13 hours. This is an increase of around 10 per cent from 982kcal to 1087kcal.A new study, published in the International Journal of Obesity, is the first to directly link sleep to energy intake in children under the age of 3 years.The study, funded by Cancer Research UK, involved 1303 UK families, monitoring sleep when children were 16 months old and diet at 21 months old.'We know that shorter sleep in early life increases the risk of obesity, so we wanted to understand whether shorter sleeping children consume more calories' said Dr Abi Fisher of the Health Behaviour Research Centre at UCL.'Previous studies in adults and older children have shown that sleep loss causes people to eat more, but in early life parents make most of the decisions about when and how much their children eat, so young children cannot be assumed to show the same patterns.'The key message here is that shorter sleeping children may be prone to consume too many calories," says Dr Fisher. " 'Although more research is needed to understand why this might be, it is something parents should be made aware of' said Dr Fisher.It is thought the regulation of appetite hormones may become disrupted by shorter sleeping patterns.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az