A new study has found sleeping more may actually help you fight
a genetic predisposition to gain weight. “The less sleep you
get, the more your genes contribute to how much you weigh. The
more sleep you get, the less your genes determine how much you
weigh,” says lead author Nathaniel Watson, a neurologist and co-
director of the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center
in Seattle. There have been numerous studies in the past
demonstrating the connection between sleep and weight, but this
study looks specifically at the role of genetics. Watson and his
colleagues analyzed self-reported data on height, weight and
sleep duration of 604 pairs of identical twins and 484 sets of
fraternal twins in the University of Washington Twin Registry.
Sleep needs vary among individuals, but here are some nightly
guidelines used in the study: People were considered to get
short sleep if they slept less than seven hours a night, normal
sleep if they slept seven to 8.9 hours, and long sleep if they
slept nine hours or more