According to a small-scale study conducted by the researchers at the University of Chicago, dieters may not lose body fat without having proper sleep.

The study establishes the facts that sleep habit directly affects weight regulation. The study also advises people to take enough sleep, if they are undergoing any weight loss plan.

For the study, 10 overweight men and women were taken. All of the participants were asked to sleep in a lab for two separate two-week period.

All of them received the same calorie-restricted diet during the two periods. For one period, the participants were asked to sleep for 8.5 hours per night and during the other period, they slept for 5.5 hours.

Researchers found that under both conditions same amount of weight loss was noticed in the dieters, which was little under 7 pounds. The participants lost muscle in place of fat during the sleep-restricted period.

Ghrelin hormone is responsible for stimulating hunger and promoting fat retention and is related to the sleep level. The authors stated that sleep loss 'amplifies' the ghrelin-associated changes.

They mentioned, "The increased loss of fat-free body mass during the short-sleep condition is due to increased conversion of body protein into glucose to support the more prolonged metabolic needs of the waking brain and other glucose-dependent tissues".

The study findings have been published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.