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CHICAGO -- Heres a new kind of weight loss diet for you; a sleep diet.
Researchers at the University of Chicago are uncovering why a good night's sleep can be just as important as food or exercise in controlling our weight.
Researcher Matthew Brady and his team are the first to discover how sleep affects fat cells.
Normally, many of us would like to get rid of fat cells but Brady says our fat cells, along with insulin, actually perform the important job of storing and burning body fat.
Brady says it's that job that becomes compromised in volunteers who got just four and a half hours of sleep at night for several days.
"We were surprised at how quickly we got such a robust effect. I mean four nights at four and a half hours in bed we kind of think is real world, I mean, you're cramming for finals, you have a big deadline, newborn in the house..." says Brady.
Brady says what happened to his sleep challenged college volunteers is like looking at how the body is going to work 20 years later.
Organs will work less well. People gain weight and higher sugar levels can lead to diabetic complications.
"So it can affect your vision, it can affect your kidney function, it can affect your liver function and over time it is the secondary complications that can lead to amputation, blindness and a whole host of problems," says Brady.
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How does sleep impact weight loss and body fat?
