Sleepless nights use significant energy levels

Monday 10th January 2011

A new US study has found that lying awake in bed can use almost as much energy as a two mile walk. The University of Colorado research tested seven participants over a three-day period, during which they experienced an eight-hour sleep followed by forty hours of sleep deprivation, then concluded with another eight-hour sleep.

The experiment tested the participants' levels of energy usage, along with the type of energy that was being used, fat, carbohydrates or protein. The key finding showed that eight hours of sleep saved around 135 calories compared to eight hours of being awake.

The results of the investigation, the first of its kind, shed new light on the effects of sleep deprivation, showing that not only are sufferers contending without the restorative benefits that sleep brings but they are also exhausting their bodies further with continued energy usage during the night. Despite the expenditure of energy, the researchers pointed out that the process in no way constitutes a safe or effective way to lose weight, because of the obvious side effects of sleep deprivation.

"We found that people do expend more energy when they are awake in bed than when they are asleep. While the amount of energy savings for humans during sleep may seem relatively small, it was actually a little more than we expected," said Kenneth Wright, lead researcher.

The study was published in the Journal of Physiology, and reported in the Colorado Daily.

Tags: sleep research deprivation memory foam

Category: Sleep Research

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