Changing your sleep routine can cause you to pile on the pounds. Sleeping for one hour less or an hour more has the same detrimental effect on a human body, according to a study.
The study also found that sleeping an hour less or more caused teenagers to eat more than usual.
Researchers analysed the sleeping pattern of 342 teenagers, on an average they slept about seven hours every night.
However, when the amount of time teenagers slept varied by just an hour - either less or more - they ate, on average, an extra 201 calories per day.
However, when they slept either for one hour less and more - they ate, on average, an extra 201 calories per day which is equivalent to a bagel or two scoops of chocolate ice cream.
They also consumed about 32g more carbohydrates (100g of spaghetti) and 6g more total fat (one teaspoon of butter) the following day.
'According to the data from our study, it's not how long you sleep that matters. 'It's about day-to-day variations in how long you sleep, ' said study lead author Fan He, of Penn State University College of Medicine.
One of the reasons attributed to this weight gain could be hormonal imbalance due to the shift in sleeping patterns.
Earlier studies, based on self-reported sleep data, have claimed that teenagers who didn't get enough sleep are at higher risk of obesity.
“This research is the first to objectively measure the teenagers' sleeping pattern and physical activity for over a week in association with their eating habits in real life, instead of under laboratory conditions,” Dr He added.
Disrupted sleep is likely to cause a 60 per cent higher chance of night-time snacking on school nights, and 100 per cent higher chance of night-time munching on weekends.
The study also found that teenagers slept more at weekends than on weekdays.
