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Invited Commentary
February 7, 2022

Good Sleep, Better Life—Enhancing Health and Safety With Optimal Sleep

Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
  • 2The Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
  • 3Sleep Medicine Division, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
  • 4Packard Children’s Health Alliance, Stanford Children’s Health, Stanford, California
JAMA Intern Med. 2022;182(4):374-375. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.8063

Sleep loss, circadian disruption, and sleep disorders affect mortality, morbidity, safety, performance, and mood.1 Although sleep is essential for humans, there is a persistent societal misconception that sleeping too much means gaining weight because less energy is exerted when sleeping. Historically, individuals who slept a lot were often portrayed as being overweight and lazy, and in the modern work- and activity-obsessed culture, getting less sleep can be viewed as a badge of honor. The randomized clinical trial by Tasali et al2 in this issue of JAMA Internal Medicine corrects the misconception that more sleep leads to weight gain and, in the process, enhances our understanding of how sleep affects energy intake and weight loss. The findings of this trial are especially important given the high community prevalence of obesity.

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