The links between sleep and health–and sleep and body weight, in particular–have become harder to ignore in recent years. The research has shown a strong connection between sleep deprivation and higher body weight, both in adults and in kids. And perhaps the most striking connection is that the one may predict the other as a person ages: In fact, a new study in the Journal of Pediatrics finds that the later the bedtime in early childhood, the greater the risk for obesity in adolescence. The reverse is true, too. Though there’s likely a number of variables involved, the connection may underline the degree to which sleep really does affect how the brain develops, and that a sleep-deprived brain in early childhood may not quite be wired optimally. But as the new study also shows, the connection may also be partly about the psychological elements associated with an early bedtime.
