We all know that eating more energy than you expend over time will lead to you gaining weight. What you may not have considered is the role that the hormone melatonin may be playing in adding extra kilos to your waistline.
When your body prepares for sleep the levels of a hormone called melatonin increase to make you feel sleepy and ready for bed. Increased melatonin levels are also linked to a time when your body increases its ability to store fat. Everyone has their own pattern of what is normal for going to sleep and waking but this may play an even more significant role in helping you be at your healthiest weight than previously thought.
A study of 110 college aged participants were studied over 30 days using a mobile app where participants recorded when they slept and what and when they ate over a day. In one of these 30 days, each participant’s body composition, sleep pattern and melatonin levels were recorded in a specifically designed lab. Researchers found that those who had a higher percentage of fat ate more at night just before going to sleep, this is when your melatonin levels are high.
So, what can you take from this study? You may be able to eat later in the day compared to the person next to you and this may have completely different effects on the amount of fat your body stores from the meal. It is all dependent on your regular sleep cycle.
This study may also provide a link as to why shift workers tend to find they put on weight easily as their sleep cycle is irregular meaning the pattern of melatonin could be all over the shop. It is important to remember that what you eat over the entire day and on a regular basis does make the biggest difference.
Reference:
1.Andrew W McHill, Andrew JK Phillips, Charles A Czeisler, Leigh Keating, Karen Yee, Laura K Barger, Marta Garaulet, Frank AJL Scheer, Elizabeth B Klerman. Later circadian timing of food intake is associated with increased body fat. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2017; ajcn161588 DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.117.161588
