Lack of ‘sufficient’ sleep can increase in visceral fat in the belly

Visceral fat is stored deep within the belly, and it acts to protect and insulate our vital organs. While this means a certain amount of it is needed, too much can be harmful. In fact, having an excess of visceral fat has been linked to conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.Like subcutaneous fat, which is found under the skin, it is well established that what you eat and how much you exercise can have an impact on how much visceral fat is in your body.While this can seem unachievable to some people, one expert has recommended another way to tackle visceral fat.Certified personal trainer at Ultimate Performance, Emily Servante, advised getting more sleep.Speaking with Express.co.uk, she said: ‘So, what can you do to get rid of this invisible but potentially deadly fat?READ MORE: Acholic stools are ‘the most common’ sign of pancreatic cancer in ‘initial’ stages Not getting enough sleep can increase visceral fat in the belly (Image: Getty Images)’The most obvious thing you can do is lose weight. Losing weight will improve your visceral fat – full stop.’But, before you start pounding the treadmill seven days a week or reducing your diet to scoffing platefuls of nothing but broccoli, there is one very simple, very easy thing you can do to target visceral fat – go to bed earlier!’Decreased sleep time is directly linked to increased body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage and visceral fat.’In fact, new research from the Mayo Clinic shows that a lack of sufficient sleep can lead to an 11 percent increase in abdominal visceral fat.’DON’T MISSThree symptoms appear before someone dies from a heart attack [STUDY]Steatorrhoea is ‘key’ symptom of pancreatic cancer [EXPERT]Nine factors that can raise your risk of ‘dangerous’ blood clots [INSIGHT] Create a sleep-friendly environment by turning off electronic devices before bed (Image: Getty Images) The difference between visceral and subcutaneous fat (Image: Getty Images)To improve quality of sleep she recommended you:Get more daylight exposure every morningCreate a sleep-friendly environmentStick to a sleep scheduleKeep coffee to the morning.It is not possible to know how much visceral fat is hidden in the body without imaging tests.But you can get a rough estimate by measuring your waist using the belly button as a marker.For women 35 inches or more can signal visceral fat and for men it’s 40 inches.