Premium
Severe chronic insomnia is not associated with higher body mass index
Author(s) -
Crönlein Tatjana,
Langguth Berthold,
Busch Volker,
Rupprecht Rainer,
Wetter Thomas C.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of sleep research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2869
pISSN - 0962-1105
DOI - 10.1111/jsr.12294
Subject(s) - insomnia , body mass index , overweight , medicine , sleep (system call) , risk factor , population , sleep disorder , chronic insomnia , physical therapy , psychiatry , environmental health , computer science , operating system
Summary Short sleep duration is widely considered to be a risk factor for weight gain, suggesting that patients suffering from sleep disorders are a risk group. Despite some positive preliminary data on patients with organic sleep disorders, empirical evidence for an increased body mass index in patients with insomnia is scarce. Two‐hundred and thirty‐three patients with a confirmed diagnosis of severe and chronic insomnia without co‐morbidity showing objectively impaired sleep quality were compared with respect to their body mass index with control data derived from a representative population survey matched in gender and age. As a result, patients with insomnia showed a lower body mass index (23.8 kg m −2 versus 27.1 kg m −2 ; P < 0.0005). Our findings suggest that patients with chronic insomnia do not exhibit overweight. These data are a valuable educational tool to calm patients’ fears about the consequences of insomnia, and contribute to the understanding of chronically disturbed sleep and weight regulation.