Want to win the battle of the bulge? A good night's sleep will help you stick to your diet

Want to win the battle of the bulge? A good night's sleep will help you stick to your diet - Forget punishing gym sessions and miserable meals. The best way to trim a tubby tummy could be to sleep on it.

A study has found that a good night’s rest is a key factor in the battle of the bulge.

Men and women who had at least six hours’ sleep a night and coped well with the stresses of everyday life were twice as likely to lose a stone when put on a diet for six months.

Rest easy: Those who slept for at least six hours were twice as likely to succeed with their diet

It is thought that between six and eight hours’ sleep helps keep the hormones that govern the feelings of being full and hungry in balance. And reducing stress stops us from bingeing on comfort foods.

The 500 overweight American men and women who took part in the study were asked to cut back their daily food intake by around 500 calories.

They were also advised gradually to increase the amount of exercise they did, until they reached three hours a week, and eat a healthy, low-fat diet rich in fruit and vegetables.

Weekly group meetings provided motivation and support.

At the start of the study, the dieters were questioned on their sleep habits, how stressed they felt and how much time they spent in front of a TV or computer screen.

Six months later, those who had the lowest stress levels, who also got more than six hours of sleep a night but not more than eight, were most likely to have lost at least 10lb.

And they were twice as likely as stressed-out light sleepers to have shed a stone, the International Journal of Obesity reports.

TV and computer time did not affect dieting success, but this may have been because even the telly addicts took plenty of exercise, the researchers said.

Dr Charles Elder, of the Kaiser Permanente Centre for Health Research, in Portland, Oregon, said: ‘This study suggests that when people are trying to lose weight, they should try to get the right amount of sleep and reduce their stress.

‘Some people may just need to cut back on their schedules and get to bed earlier. Others may find that exercise can reduce stress and help them sleep.

‘For some people, mind-body techniques such as meditation might also be helpful.’

He added that stress may bring on hormonal changes that heighten appetite. This sends people reaching for junk food.

Other slightly unusual advice for keeping slim includes turning down the heating and keeping your hands clean.

It is claimed that ‘comfortable’ temperatures stop us from burning off fat, while some scientists believe that a virus spread by dirty hands fools the body into making fat cells. ( dailymail.co.uk )