Recent research has revealed that a lack of sleep can cause you to put weight on around 60 per cent of British adults are overweight or obese and as previously thought overeating or lack of exercise was the main cause but it now seems sleep deprivation is also a major factor.

Dr Shahrad Taheri, a consultant endocrinologist at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital said “We have done a series of studies looking at weight and sleep, and studying the metabolic rate. We discovered that people who sleep for significantly less than seven hours a night often end up being obese.” During the research they also found that if people who sleep for fewer than 4 hours a night are 73 per cent more likely to gain excess weight, while restricting sleep can lead to cravings for up to 900 extra calories a day. This extra increase in food intake can cause an increase in weight of up to 2lb a week. The cravings are caused by hormones that regulate appetite they are stimulated when you don’t get enough sleep leading to higher levels of ghrelin the hormone that triggers appetite, and lower levels of leptin that tells your body it’s full.

Many doctors recommend getting at least 8 hours of undisturbed sleep a night to reduce the chance of extreme weight gain.