Research: Sleeping longer reduces the craving for sugar

A new study from King’s College London once again demonstrates the link between the amount of sleep and body weight. Sleeping an hour to an hour and a half longer resulted in participants eating less (added) sugars, carbohydrates, and fats, among other things.

Eating more due to lack of sleep

Last year, researchers from King’s College conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on the effects of sleep deprivation on the amount of food consumed [1]. At that time, I also wrote an article about this review. They concluded that sleep deprivation leads to an increased food intake of an average of 385 kcal while there is no compensating effect in consumption. Participants did not burn more calories because they were awake longer. This also results in an effective difference in the total energy balance of 385 kcal which, if structural, is more than enough to make the difference between gaining or losing weight.

Last year I also wrote about a study from the University of Leeds showing that 3 hours less sleep leads to 3 centimeters more around your waist.

In an Italian study lasting six years from 2011, 1500 people were followed [2]. People who became obese during that period were found to sleep on average almost an hour less than people who maintained a healthy weight.

There are several possible reasons for this, such as the link between sleep and insulin resistance [3-5], blood sugar [6-8], and hunger hormone [9,10].

I discussed these connections in an article about the influence of sleep on muscle and fat mass. The latest findings from King’s College are therefore not very surprising, but every new piece of the puzzle is welcome.

Sleeping longer, eating less

For their most recent research, the researchers turned it around: What effect does it have if you help people to sleep longer [11]?

For this, they divided 42 participants of the study into two groups. The first group of 21 participants received advice and tips to extend their sleeping time by 1.5 hours. The goal was to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. In the second group, these tips were not given. Subsequently, the eating and sleeping patterns were monitored for seven days and the amount of sleep was also determined at night using sensors. This allowed a distinction to be made between actual sleep and the time participants were still awake in bed.

The advice to sleep longer consisted of various tips such as avoiding coffee late in the day and going to bed with a full or empty stomach. Making to-do lists before going to sleep also possibly yielded some benefit, as described last week. In half of the group, the tips led to an increased sleeping time of 52 to 90 minutes, thereby achieving the goal. In total, 86% of the participants slept longer, but the extension was not sufficient in all these cases to lead to 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

Less added sugars and fewer carbohydrates

Both groups were given no instructions about diet. They were allowed to continue eating as they normally did. In the control group, therefore, you see few differences. However, in the group that slept longer, you saw that the participants made different choices regarding their diet.

• The amount of daily calories was reduced by about 9.5%.
• The amount of added sugars was reduced by almost 10 grams (about 40%) in the group that slept longer.
• The amount of daily carbohydrates was reduced by almost 12%
• The amount of natural sugars was reduced by about 15.5%
• The amount of fats dropped by about 18%

The difference between added sugars and natural sugars is not that interesting in itself. Both can have exactly the same effect in the body.

In any case, it is clear that sleeping longer led to healthier dietary choices. Choices that were not made from a wise consideration, but simply because the need had changed.

References

1. Al Khatib H, Harding SV, Darzi J, Pot GK. The effects of partial sleep deprivation on energy balance: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur J Clin Nutr 2017;71:614–24.
2. Bo S, Ciccone G, Durazzo M, Ghinamo L, Villois P, Canil S, Gambino R, Cassader M, Gentile L, Cavallo-Perin P. Contributors to the obesity and hyperglycemia epidemics. A prospective study in a population-based cohort. Int J Obes (Lond). 2011 Nov;35(11):1442-9. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2011.5. Epub 2011 Feb 1. PubMed PMID: 21285941.
3. Buxton OM, Pavlova M, Reid EW, Wang W, Simonson DC, Adler GK. Sleep restriction for one week reduces insulin sensitivity in healthy men. Diabetes 2010;59:2126–33.
4. Donga E, Van Dijk M, Van Dijk JG, Biermasz NR, Lammers GJ, Van Kralingen KW, Corssmit EP, Romijn JA. A single night of partial sleep deprivation induces insulin resistance in multiple metabolic pathways in healthy subjects. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2010;95:2963–8.
5. Nedeltcheva AV, Kessler L, Imperial J, Penev PD. Exposure to recurrent sleep restriction in the setting of high caloric intake and physical inactivity results in increased insulin resistance and reduced glucose tolerance. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2009;94:3242–50.
6. St-Onge M-P, O’Keeffe M, Roberts AL, RoyChoudhury A, Laferrère B. Short sleep duration, glucose dysregulation and hormonal regulation of appetite in men and women. Sleep 2012; 35:1503–10.
7. Schmid SM, Hallschmid M, Jauch-Chara K, Wilms B, Lehnert H, Born J, Schultes B. Disturbed glucoregulatory response to food intake after moderate sleep restriction. Sleep 2011;34:371–7.
8. Stamatakis KA, Punjabi NM. Effects of sleep fragmentation on glucose metabolism in normal subjects. Chest 2010;137:95–101.
9. Spiegel K, Tasali E, Penev P, Van Cauter E. Brief communication: sleep curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite. Ann Intern Med 2004;141:846–50.
10. Omisade A, Buxton OM, Rusak B. Impact of acute sleep restriction on cortisol and leptin levels in young women. Physiol Behav 2010;99:651– 6.