What’s the best way to burn fat while you sleep?
Easy - just crank the A/C up!
Hey guys, Tara here for Dnews - and you know what sucks?
Exercise.
So what if there was a way we could burn fat in our sleep?
Well according to a new study published in the journal Diabetes, there is - and all you
have to do is turn your thermostat down!
A team of researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University conducted a study recently on how
different temperatures affect our metabolism when we’re sleeping.
And they found that prolonged exposure to mildly cold temperatures, is optimal in helping
expand the amount of brown fat in our bodies.
Now that might seem counterintuitive, but remember that brown fat, unlike white fat,
is actually good for you.
White fat is basically large droplets of fat that your body uses to store energy.
Brown fat consists of much tinier droplets - that are packed with mitochondria, which
contain iron and give the fat its brown color.
But unlike white fat, which stores calories, brown fat actually burns calories.
That’s why infants, and animals that hibernate, have much more of it than regular adults.
It allows their bodies to generate enough heat to keep them warm.
It used to be thought that brown fat disappears by adulthood - but now, scientists are realizing
that many of us do contain trace amounts - maybe 2 to 3 ounces, for every 20 pounds of white
fat - but adults who have more of it, tend to be leaner.
It makes sense, then, that we’d want more brown fat - to burn off our excess stores
of white fat.
Which is exactly what sleeping in the cold does.
For this study, researchers recruited 5 male volunteers - and had them spend 4 consecutive
months sleeping in a temperature-controlled room.
For the first month, they kept the thermostat at 75 degrees F, followed by 66, 75, and 81
degrees, for the second, third, and fourth months, respectively.
And they found that when subjects slept in the 66 degree room - their bodies produced
double the amount of brown fat, compared to the other 3 months.
They also displayed better insulin sensitivity, and better regulation and disposal of glucose
- both of which are known to reduce the risk of diabetes.
Of course this study was performed on HEALTHY volunteers, so it’s unclear how these conditions
might fare for someone who’s obese, but if anything - it’s an important proof of
concept.
And it shows just how important of a role brown fat plays - in reducing our risk for
diabetes.
What do you guys think?
What’s your ideal sleeping temperature?
Personally, I prefer a cool 67.
But, I also sleep next to a 200-lb heat rock.
So, I need that extra cold.
Let us know YOUR answers in the comments below, and as always - thank you guys for watching!