Horrifying new ‘Sleeping Beauty’ diet trend

It’s the worrying new weight loss fad that’s taking some online communities by storm, but experts have warned against a disturbing ‘Sleeping Beauty’ diet.

RELATED: Wrong-number texts leads to hilarious diet prank
RELATED: The most common diet fails

The diet sees followers watch what they eat during the day, and then take sedatives so they sleep for 10 hours at night – and miss out on mealtimes.

The less-than-fairytale method has seen experts warning against abusing sleeping pills to lose weight.

“While we know that sleeping less than five to six hours a night is linked to weight gain, and as such there are weight control benefits associated with sleeping longer, the issue is artificially inducing sleep to achieve this outcome,” dietician Susie Burrell tells Be.

“Sleeping pills are powerful drugs, can have a number of side effects and should not be used unless specifically prescribed by a medical doctor.”

Experts claim there’s no evidence to prove doing this diet will help you slim down.

In fact, one Canadian study examining the sleeping habits of 276 people over six years found that those who slept more than nine hours were 21 percent more likely to be obese than normal sleepers.

Shape Me diet creator Susie advises it’s better to hit the hay early than rely on sleeping pills.

“A much better and safer option is to simply eat dinner early, go to bed early and then not eat until 7 or 8am the next day,” says Susie.

“This behavioural management is not dangerous and will still give you good weight loss results.”

Want more celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news? Follow Be on Facebook,Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.