Would love to hear anecdotes from anyone on how changing the amount of sleep they get has affected their weight loss.

I heard on NPR today about a study of children finding many who are born to obese parents end up obese early - but one interesting side note to the study was that obese kids in the study got on average half an hour less sleep than did non-obese kids.

Anyway, the value of 'enough sleep' in weight loss got addressed in a couple posts here recently:

Lessara wrote here that sleeping at least 8 hours helped her not stall:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showpost...79&postcount=18

When I asked her about specifics she said:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showpost...52&postcount=20
How I found out is from having to work a whole week at 14 hours of work each day. I would get home at 10pm and not fall asleep till 1am but get up at 6am to get the kids out to school... The week before all this I was losing about 1.5lbs a week... I gained 8lbs during the work week. Then the following week I sleep 12 hours a day but maintained my diet the same. I gained 4lbs more for the first 4 days. by day 5 of my week off I was back to 8hrs of sleep a night. On day 7 I lost 12lbs of water (I think)... The week after I lost 1.5lbs again. So that's were I got that theory.

I just read through some interesting material at sleepfoundation.org that was interesting on the topic of obesity and sleep.
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/features/obesity.cfm

Not only does obesity contribute to sleep problems, but sleep problems can also contribute to obesity. A 1999 study by scientists at the University of Chicago found that building up a sleep debt over a matter of days can impair metabolism and disrupt hormone levels. After restricting 11 healthy young adults to four hours' sleep for six nights, researchers found their ability to process glucose (sugar) in the blood had declined—in some cases to the level of diabetics.

A follow-up study tested healthy men and women with an average body mass index; half were normal sleepers, the other half averaged 6 hours or less. Glucose tolerance tests showed that the short sleepers were experiencing hormonal changes that could affect their future body weight and impair their long-term health. To keep their blood sugar levels normal, the short sleepers needed to make 30% more insulin than the normal sleepers, which predisposed them to putting on weight.

The link to the 1999 study, with an interesting, long abstract, is here:
http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/199...1-sleepdebt.php

Based on all this, I'm budgeting in more sleep! Anyone have anecdotes to share?

I can only offer a couple of personal observations ....

First .... I have always slept a LOT ... at least 8 hours per day. I was thin till I entered puberty and then the weight started coming on. My parents were normal sized. My husband was overweight, but not obese when we got married. Our children were thin and remained thin as adults until lifestyle interfered. Both got enough sleep always. The youngest lost weight simply by having a demanding and physical job. The oldest went on Atkins and lost weight.

One other observation .... I have slept fitfully for years because arthritis in my legs and Restless Leg Syndrome in my arms ... yet I always did get at least 8 hours of actual sleep time. I've been on induction for 6 days and I'm sleeping better and more soundly than I have in many, MANY years.

I sleep way to much! I often need 8-10 hrs. but I am sometimes awaken during the night which may have something to do with it. I also notice my seratonin levels are not high enough so any meds I take to help can cause more fatigue.

Curious idea though. I would have thought it the opposite...too much sleep = slowed matabolism=weight...???

Thank you for posting this article! I have cronic pain from a herniated disc/nerve damage which has affected my sleep for the past five years, and coincidently that is when I started to gain a lot of weight and developed sleep apnea. Thankfully, my doctor (same one for 20yrs) knew what was happening to me and developed a course of treatment that is working great.

My doctor took blood tests (all my stats were good except cholesterol, good and bad high). Next I was tested at hospital for my breathing (I have developed asma). Then he had me keep track of what I ate for a week so he could help me with my diet. There were only a few changes because I had already given up desserts and bread. My big no-no was pop (not diet) with my 7 and 7's and starches (potato and corn).

I've lost 21.5 pounds since 5/31 and I'm breathing better already!