More evidence that letting your kids stay up late could harm their health. And guess what, its not good for parents either.
Teens and adults who stay up late on weeknights are likely to gain more weight over time than their early-to-bed peers. And trying to catch up on sleep on weekends or by sleeping in won’t change the trajectory, according to new research from University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University that linked sleep and body mass index.
The researchers looked at more than 3,300 youths and adults who had taken part over a 15-year period. They concluded that lost sleep translated directly into gained weight — each hour equaled 2.1 points on the BMI index over the course of about five years.
The body mass index uses an individual’s height and weight to determine if the person is overweight or obese.
The researchers concluded that “the results highlight bedtimes as a potential target for weight management during adolescence and during the transition to adulthood.”
They said that exercise, screen time — including cellphones, TVs and computers — and number of hours slept did not make up for the impact the late hours have on BMI.
The National Sleep Foundation said “teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns across the week — they typically stay up late and sleep in late on the weekends, which can affect their biological clocks and hurt the quality of their sleep.” It noted that many teens “suffer from treatable sleep disorders such as narcolepsy, insomnia, restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea.”