Late, but Not Early, Night Sleep Loss Compromises Neuroendocrine Appetite Regulation and the Desire for Food.

Svenja Meyhöfer, Rodrigo Chamorro, Manfred Hallschmid, Denisa Spyra, Nelli Klinsmann, Bernd Schultes, Hendrik Lehnert, Sebastian M Meyhöfer, Britta Wilms

Journal: Nutrients 2023;15(9):2035

PMID: 37432152

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Plain Language Summary

Sleep loss has become common in modern societies. In parallel, the prevalence of obesity and metabolic comorbidities, such as type 2 diabetes, are rising worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the specific timing of sleep loss compared to regular sleep on appetite regulation and desire for foods. This study was a randomised, balanced, crossover design on three conditions spaced at least three and at maximum five weeks apart. Fifteen healthy young male participants were included. All participants had a regular sleep–wake cycle during the last four weeks before the experiments, with a minimum of 7 hours sleep per night. Results showed that ‘late-night sleep loss’, but not ‘early-night sleep loss’, elevated ghrelin concentrations, as well as feelings of hunger and appetite, and desire for food during the subsequent morning. Leptin concentrations were not affected by acute sleep loss per se, nor timing of sleep loss. Authors conclude that their findings could be of clinical interest to healthcare practitioners working with sleep deprived individuals, regarding sleep hygiene and appropriate sleep recommendations.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE

There is evidence that reduced sleep duration increases hunger, appetite, and food intake, leading to metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. However, the impact of sleep timing, irrespective of its duration and on the regulation of hunger and appetite, is less clear. We aimed to evaluate the impact of sleep loss during the late vs. early part of the night on the regulation of hunger, appetite, and desire for food.

METHODS

Fifteen normal-weight ([mean ± SEM] body-mass index: 23.3 ± 0.4 kg/m) healthy men were studied in a randomized, balanced, crossover design, including two conditions of sleep loss, i.e., 4 h sleep during the first night-half ('late-night sleep loss'), 4 h sleep during the second night-half ('early-night sleep loss'), and a control condition with 8h sleep ('regular sleep'), respectively. Feelings of hunger and appetite were assessed through visual analogue scales, and plasma ghrelin and leptin were measured from blood samples taken before, during, and after night-time sleep.

RESULTS

Ghrelin and feelings of hunger and appetite, as well as the desire for food, were increased after 'late-night sleep loss', but not 'early-night sleep loss', whereas leptin remained unaffected by the timing of sleep loss.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data indicate that timing of sleep restriction modulates the effects of acute sleep loss on ghrelin and appetite regulation in healthy men. 'Late-night sleep loss' might be a risk factor for metabolic diseases, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. Thereby, our findings highlight the metabolic relevance of chronobiological sleep timing.

Address: Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany.; German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), 85764 Neuherberg, Germany.; Department of Internal Medicine 1, Endocrinology & Diabetes, University of Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany.; Center of Brain, Behavior & Metabolism, University of Lübeck, 23562 Lübeck, Germany.; Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago 8380453, Chile.; Department of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.; Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Centre Munich, University of Tübingen (IDM), 72076 Tübingen, Germany.; University of Salzburg, A-5020 Salzburg, Austria.

DOI: 10.3390/nu15092035