The four counties in Maine that report getting the least amount of sleep also have some of the highest rates of obesity.
Residents of Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset and Franklin counties have the hardest time of all Mainers getting enough ZZZs, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It found that in 2008-2009, 30 to 32.7 percent of people there said they did not get enough sleep for at least half of the past month.
That’s compared with 26.9 percent of Maine adults who said they were not getting enough sleep on 14 or more out of the past 30 days.
What’s more, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset and Franklin are among the counties where people weigh the most. The counties that are the most sleep-deprived are also among the most obese.
Researchers do believe there is a connection between the two public health problems. Sleep disorders may contribute to obesity, and obesity may contribute to sleep disorders.
As someone gains weight, compromised breathing can increase the risk of a sleep disorder. And when someone can’t sleep, he or she may be less motivated to exercise.
There also appear to be physiological reasons why someone with sleep troubles could gain weight.
“The level of leptin [an appetite stimulating hormone] falls in subjects who are sleep deprived, which promotes appetite. It suggests that at least one factor in obesity can be sleep deprivation. Poor sleep and sleep deprivation may increase appetite. Because the psychological manifestations of fatigue, sleep and hunger are similar, as adults, we sometimes confuse them — we tend to eat when we’re actually sleepy, because we think fatigue is a sign of hunger,” said Dr. Richard Simon, a sleep specialist in Walla Walla, Washington, in a report for the National Sleep Foundation.
A similar trend — correlating obesity and sleeplessness rates — plays out across the country.
Here is a map showing rates of sleep deprivation:
And here’s another showing obesity rates:
You can see the correlation between insufficient sleep and obesity prevalence.
We don’t really know how well successful people sleep, but we apparently know how much sleep they’re getting. And in some cases it doesn’t look like much. We’ll include it here to give you something to ponder as you’re drifting off to a, hopefully, sound slumber.
