I’ve heard before that lack of sleep is connected with obesity, but I was surprised to hear that it also is linked to smoking, drinking alcohol and not being physically active. What’s the story here?

Lack of sleep does appear to be associated with obesity - one theory is that sleep deprivation disrupts production of hormones that regulate appetite. But findings from a door-to-door government survey of 87,000 U.S. adults from 2004 through 2006 suggests that those who get the least sleep are also more likely to put their health at risk by smoking cigarettes, drinking too much alcohol, and not being physically active. In the case of cigarettes and physical inactivity, this was also true for those who slept nine or more hours per night.

The study was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, an arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It doesn't prove that sleep deprivation leads to smoking or alcohol consumption - or vice versa - and it doesn't tell us what other factors might influence these risky health habits. In some cases, depression or stress could be the underlying reasons for not getting enough sleep and for drinking.

But the findings are striking. Here's a summary:

*Smoking:Of those who slept seven to eight hours a night only 18 percent were smokers compared to 31 percent of those who slept less than six hours and 26 percent of those who slept more than nine hours.

*Alcohol:Adults who got the least sleep were slightly more likely to have had five or more drinks in one day than those who got seven to eight hours, but here, the difference was only three percent: 19 percent of those who had a good night's sleep had five or more drinks a day compared to 22 percent of those who slept six hours or less.

*Physical Inactivity:For both men and women regardless of age, those who slept less than six or more than nine hours a night were more likely to be physically inactive than those who slept seven to eight.

*Obesity:The rate of obesity was highest (33 percent) among those who slept less than six hours and lowest (22 percent) among those who slept seven to eight hours a night. This held true for both men and women regardless of age.

Adequate sleep is key to a healthy lifestyle, and accumulating research suggests that it plays an even larger role in health than we once thought. There is more to learn about this subject. I'll keep you posted on developments. Meanwhile, if you're not getting seven to eight hours sleep per night, based on what we now know, it might benefit your weight - and your overall health - to strive for more shut-eye.

以前只听说睡眠不足与肥胖有关,但是令我惊讶的是它也与吸烟,酗酒和不参加身体锻炼有关.到底是怎么回事呢?

睡眠不足与肥胖是有关的.一项理论说,睡眠可以减少胃液的分泌.但是根据美国政府的一项从2004到2006年间,上门访问87,000个成人的调查表明,睡眠不足的人和那些吸烟,酗酒,不参加锻炼的人一样,是将他们的健康推向危险的边缘,还有每天睡眠9小时或更长的人也是如此.

这项研究是由国家卫生统计中心发表,这是一个疾病控制与预防中心的政府机构.其实,并没有证明说睡眠的不足会导致吸烟和喝酒等,反之亦如此,而且也没有说明哪些因素可能会影响这些不好的习惯.一些例子表明,抑郁和紧张可能是由于没有足够的睡眠和良好的饮食.

但是这些发现引起了争论,概括如下:

吸烟:那些睡眠在7-8个小时之间的吸烟者有18%,少于6个小时的有31%,而26%的吸烟者的睡眠时间是多余9个小时的.

喝酒:那些在白天喝五杯或是更多的成年人比那些睡眠时间在7-8个小时的人的睡眠时间只少一些,而它们之间相差为3%:那些在白天有五杯或是更多的,有19%的人表示睡眠良好,而22%的睡眠时间是6个小时或是更少.

运动:部分年龄,不管是男性还是女性,那些睡眠时间少于6个小时或是多于9个小时的比那些睡眠时间在7-8个小时的人是少参加运动的.

肥胖:肥胖在那些睡眠少于6个小时的人群当中占有最高的比例(33%),而在睡眠时间7-8个小时的人群中所占的比例是最小的(22%),不份年龄,这在男性和女性之间都是确实存在的.

充足的睡眠是健康生活的关键,诸多事实告诉我们,它比我们过去所认为还要重要.想要了解更多的这个主题,我将会继续发表.同时,如果你每晚的睡眠是不足7-8个小时,请按我们所说的去做,这对你的体重是有好处的-还有你的健康-请尽量多闭眼吧.