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ArticlesDecember 7, 2004

Brief Communication: Sleep Curtailment in Healthy Young Men Is Associated with Decreased Leptin Levels, Elevated Ghrelin Levels, and Increased Hunger and Appetite

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    https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-141-11-200412070-00008
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    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.

    Design:

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

    Setting:

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

    Patients:

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

    Measurements:

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

    Intervention:

    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).

    Limitations:

    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.

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