Brief communication: Sleep curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite.
BACKGROUND
Total sleep deprivation in rodents and in humans has been associated with hyperphagia. Over the past 40 years, self-reported sleep duration in the United States has decreased by almost 2 hours.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether partial sleep curtailment, an increasingly prevalent behavior, alters appetite regulation.


METHODS
Randomized, 2-period, 2-condition crossover clinical study.


METHODS
Clinical Research Center, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.


METHODS
12 healthy men (mean age [+/-SD], 22 +/- 2 years; mean body mass index [+/-SD], 23.6 +/- 2.0 kg/m2).


METHODS
Daytime profiles of plasma leptin and ghrelin levels and subjective ratings of hunger and appetite.


METHODS
2 days of sleep restriction and 2 days of sleep extension under controlled conditions of caloric intake and physical activity.


RESULTS
Sleep restriction was associated with average reductions in the anorexigenic hormone leptin (decrease, 18%; P = 0.04), elevations in the orexigenic factor ghrelin (increase, 28%; P < 0.04), and increased hunger (increase, 24%; P < 0.01) and appetite (increase, 23%; P = 0.01), especially for calorie-dense foods with high carbohydrate content (increase, 33% to 45%; P = 0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
The study included only 12 young men and did not measure energy expenditure.


CONCLUSIONS
Short sleep duration in young, healthy men is associated with decreased leptin levels, increased ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite.
Spiegel
Karine
K
University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Tasali
Esra
E
Penev
Plamen
P
Van Cauter
Eve
E
D000328:Adult; D001066:Appetite / Q000502:physiology*; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D054439:Ghrelin; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger / Q000502:physiology*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000097:blood / Q000503:physiopathology*
D054439:Ghrelin; D020738:Leptin; D036361:Peptide Hormones