Too Little Sleep Spurs Appetite-Boosting Hormones: Study

By -- Robert Preidt

FRIDAY, Dec. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Getting more sleep may help reduce overeating, a small new study suggests.

The researchers also found that the hormonal process through which sleep affects eating is different for men and women.

The study included 27 normal-weight men and women, aged 30 to 45, who were studied under two sleep conditions: short sleep (four hours) and normal sleep (nine hours). Short sleep led to increased levels of the hunger-stimulating hormone ghrelin in men but not in women. But short sleep reduced levels of the satiety (feeling of fullness) hormone GLP-1 in women but not in men.

The findings suggest that the common problem of wanting to overeat due to a lack of sleep is related to increased appetite in men and reduced feelings of fullness in women, according to the study in a recent issue of the journal Sleep.

"Our results point to the complexity of the relationship between sleep duration and energy balance regulation," study principal investigator Marie-Pierre St-Onge, of the New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center, St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital, and the department of medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University in New York City, said in a journal news release.

"The state of energy balance, whether someone is in a period of weight loss or weight gain, may be critical in the metabolic and hormonal responses to sleep restriction," St-Onge added.

The findings support the idea that amount of sleep has a direct effect on eating and weight control, the researchers said.

However, while the study found an association between sleep duration and hunger, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

The Harvard School of Public Health has more about sleep and weight.

HealthDay News

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
The information in this article, including reference materials, are provided to you solely for educational or research purposes. Information in reference materials, are not and should not be considered professional health care advice upon which you should rely. Health care information changes rapidly and consequently, information in this article may be out of date. Questions about personal health should always be referred to a physician or other health care professional.