According to the latest study published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, women with a history of weight cycling have increased rates of insomnia and other sleep disorders.
Weight cycling refers to the process of losing at least 10 pounds, only to gain it back and repeat the cycle again shortly thereafter. As per the report, this usually occurs when a person repeatedly starts and stops restrictive dieting.
What’s alarming are the risks and issues that come with weight cycling. The researchers have associated history of weight cycling with poor sleep, including short sleep duration, frequent use of sleep medications, severe insomnia, greater sleep disturbances and daytime dysfunction amongst women. They also observed the high risk of developing Obstructive Sleep Apnea.
The researchers analysed data on 506 women, the average age being 37 years, enrolled in an ongoing American Heart Association-funded "Go Red for Women" research project. The women represented every stage of adult life, from childbearing to premenopausal and menopausal. It was observed that approximately 72 percent of the women reported episodes of weight cycling. In the majority of the cases, episodes of weight cycling had resulted in poor sleep quality. There supposedly seems to exist an “intricate interplay” between sleep and weight cycling.
The researchers have emphasised the need to ask women about their history of weight cycling in order to identify their risk for sleep problems. The findings also suggest that maintaining a stable body weight over time will go a long way in helping sleep disorders.