A recent study from Case Western Reserve University has found that women who get enough sleep every night gain less weight than their under-rested counterparts. This is great news for those of us that insist on getting at least seven hours of sleep. The report involved over 68,000 women and calculated that those who slept less than five hours a night were more prone to weight gain than the women who slept at least seven hours each night.

The women who consistently slept less than five hours each night gained 0.7 kilograms more over a 10-year span than the women who got at least seven hours of rest. Those who slept less also increased their chances of eventually becoming obese.

In an interesting twist on the expected behavior patterns of women who get less nightly rest, researchers found that they often consumed fewer calories each day. The women who slept seven hours were the ones who ate more, refuting the notion that overeating is responsible for weight gain in women who sleep less.

Head researcher, Sanjay Patel, attributes the weight differences to a lower metabolic rate and less daily fidgeting (fidgets burn calories too) in the women who sleep less.

[via New Scientist]

Image: BBC