A new study confirmed that sleep loss can contribute to weight gain by not only by boosting hunger but also slowing down the burning of calories.

The research led by Christian Benedict of the Uppsala University in Sweden was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The finding indicated that sleep deprivation appears to put a drag on metabolism, causing the body to use less energy. Having enough sleep might slow down weight gain, it said.

Approximately 50 to 70 million Americans experience from chronic sleep loss and sleep disorders, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Previous studies have linked sleep deprivation with weight gain, and shown how disrupted sleep also disrupts levels of stress- and hunger-related hormones during waking hours.

To determine the factors lack of sleep might contribute to weight gain, Benedict and his team had 14 male university students through a series of sleep conditions — curtailed sleep, no sleep, and normal sleep -- for several days before measuring the changes in the amount of food intake, blood sugar level, hormone level, and metabolic rate indicators.

The team found that even a single night of missed sleep slowed the volunteers' metabolisms the next morning, reducing their bodies' energy expenditure for tasks like breathing and digestion by 5 to 20 percent, compared with the morning after a good night's sleep.

In addition, the volunteers also had high level of blood sugar, and appetite-regulating hormones after sleep loss the morning after. However, sleep deprivation did not increase the amount of food they participants ate during the day.

The National Sleep Foundation recommended that adults should have seven to nine hours of sleep every night. For those who are unable to get the recommended number of sleep hours and are worried about gaining weight, Benedict suggests they commit to a daily mealtime to prevent them from gaining weight. (From news reports)