Fat cells also Need Sleep

Sleeping at night is not only beneficial for the brain to rest, but also fat cells. If you lack sleep, your fat cells can be damaged and not responding well energy metabolism. As a result, you gain weight and are more prone to diabetes and other diseases. Thus the conclusion of the study Matthew Brady of the University of Chicago and his colleagues on the relationship between energy balance and sleep deprivation.

"Just like when you're groggy from lack of sleep, it was lack of sleep also makes your fat cells are metabolically giddy," said Matthew Brady, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago.

For the purposes of the study volunteers they recruited seven healthy, slim and young with an average age of 24 years. They spent four consecutive nights to sleep 4.5 hours and 8 hours. The amount of food they are set the same in both the experimental approach and tightly controlled.
Decreased insulin response

After a sleep experiment, participants underwent an intravenous glucose tolerance test that showed sensitivity to insulin. The result, after a short night's sleep that their body responds to insulin significantly worse. Insulin response decreased by an average of 16 percent when participants were sleep deprived, compared to when they sleep eight hours. In particular, a protein called Akt1 be 30 percent less active in the fat cells of participants who were sleep deprived.

"Just to sleep 4.5 hours for four nights was enough to make them ripen metabolic age 10 to 20 years," Brady said.

Many people think that fat is the source of the problem, whereas fat has important benefits. Body fat serves as an energy reserve, which store energy and release it as needed.

"For energy storage, fat cells are converted into fatty acids and lipids. If the fat cells do not respond effectively to insulin, lipids absorbed into the circulation and cause serious complications, "said Brady. In the long term, sleep deprivation would constantly disrupt energy balance that leads to diabetes, obesity and other health problems.
Quick hungry

Decreased sensitivity also have other side effects because fat cells normally produce insulin in response to leptin. "Leptin is known as an anti-hunger hormone," says Brady. "If the cells less sensitive to insulin, they become easy hunger, causing long-term weight gain in those affected."

Furthermore, the researchers said it would try to sleep intervention to help obese patients improve their sleep, which could potentially reduce their weight.

"If you improve sleep quality and duration of sleep, you might be able to help someone who has a metabolic disorder and correct it only through the intervention of sleep," said Brady.