7-8 hours of sleep best for healthy weight

If you want to keep a healthy weight, sleep seven to eight hours a day and no more or less, scientists have discovered.

A new study conducted by obesity researchers at Laval University in Quebec City suggests that seven to eight hours is just the right amount of sleep, with people who get too little and those who get too much actually putting on weight as a consequence.

The study showed that people who slept five to six hours a night and people who averaged nine to 10 hours a night put on more weight when followed over a six-year period as compared to people who got the recommended seven to eight hours of shut-eye.

The researchers followed 276 adults aged 21 to 64 years, over half of whom were drawn from families where at least one parent and one offspring were obese by BMI measures.

The result showed that short sleepers gained an average of 1.98kg more than average sleepers and long duration sleepers gained an average of 1.58 kg when compared to the optimal length sleepers.

GOOD MARRIAGE GOOD BLOOD PRESSURE

A happy marriage is good for your blood pressure, but a stressed one can be worse than being single, a preliminary study suggests.

That second finding is a surprise because prior studies have shown that married people tend to be healthier than singles, said researcher Julianne Holt-Lunstad.

It would take further study to sort out what the results mean for long-term health, said Holt-Lunstad, an assistant psychology professor at Brigham Young University. Her study was reported online Thursday by the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

The study involved 204 married people and 99 single adults. Most were white, and it's not clear whether the same results would apply to other ethnic groups, Holt-Lunstad said.

Study volunteers wore devices that recorded their blood pressure at random times over 24 hours. Married participants also filled out questionnaires about their marriage.

Analysis found that the more marital satisfaction and adjustment spouses reported, the lower their average blood pressure was over the 24 hours and during the daytime.

But spouses who scored low in marital satisfaction had higher average blood pressure than single people did. During the daytime, their average was about five points higher, entering a range that's considered a warning sign. (That result is for the top number in a blood pressure reading).
"I think this (study) is worth some attention," said Karen Matthews, a professor of psychiatry, psychology and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. She studies heart disease and high blood pressure but didn't participate in the new work.

Few studies of the risk for high blood pressure have looked at marital quality rather than just marital status, she said.

It makes sense that marital quality is more important than just being married when it comes to affecting blood pressure, said Dr. Brian Baker, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto.