Increased Hunger, Food Cravings, Food Reward, and Portion Size Selection after Sleep Curtailment in Women Without Obesity

Abstract

This study examined the effects of one night of sleep curtailment on hunger, food cravings, food reward, and portion size selection. Women who reported habitually sleeping 7–9 h per night, were aged 18–55, were not obese, and had no sleep disorders were recruited. Sleep conditions in this randomized crossover study consisted of a normal night (NN) and a curtailed night (CN) where time in bed was reduced by 33%. Hunger, tiredness, sleep quality, sleepiness, and food cravings were measured. A progressive ratio task using chocolates assessed the food reward. Participants selected portions of various foods that reflected how much they wanted to eat at that time. The sleep duration was measured using a single-channel electroencephalograph. Twenty-four participants completed the study. The total sleep time was shorter during the CN (p < 0.001). Participants reported increased hunger (p = 0.013), tiredness (p < 0.001), sleepiness (p < 0.001), and food cravings (p = 0.002) after the CN. More chocolate was consumed after the CN (p = 0.004). Larger portion sizes selected after the CN resulted in increased energy plated for lunch (p = 0.034). In conclusion, the present study observed increased hunger, food cravings, food reward, and portion sizes of food after a night of modest sleep curtailment. These maladaptive responses could lead to higher energy intake and, ultimately, weight gain.

The Elapsed Time between Dinner and the Midpoint of Sleep Is Associated with Adiposity in Young Women

“…Dashti et al [8] reviewed this topic and pointed out that short sleep duration (<6 h) was associated with low diet quality. Together with insufficient sleep, other conditions that occur in parallel, such as increased hunger and food cravings for high-fat and/or sweet foods, as well as increased susceptibility to food rewards, may be potential mechanisms underlying these associations [8,36,37]. Although people do not always give into cravings, it is important to note that they have been associated with an excess of energy intake and obesity [36].…”

Twenty Years of the Food Cravings Questionnaires: a Comprehensive Review

“…These include, for example, excellent internal reliabilities, adequate retest-reliability of the G-FCQ-T across three weeks, moderate-to-high correlations between the G-FCQ-T and other eating behavior traits, and no or small correlations between the G-FCQ-S and these eating behavior traits. Sensitivity to change of G-FCQ-S scores is indicated by decreased scores after food intake [69,70] and increased scores after sleep deprivation [71]. Similar to the FCQ-T, the G-FCQ-T is also sensitive to change as demonstrated, for example, in decreased scores after bariatric surgery, energyrestricted diets, and mindful eating interventions [72][73][74][75].…”

“…Although the General FCQs were originally developed in Dutch, the English items are displayed in the article by Nijs et al [69]. Accordingly, these English versions have also been used in several studies (e.g., [71,72]). Moreover, the G-FCQ-T has been translated into Korean [76,77].…”

Sarcopenia during COVID-19 lockdown restrictions: long-term health effects of short-term muscle loss

“…For example, sleep deprivation studies have shown that after only 2 nights of 4 h sleep each, leptin levels can drop by 18% and ghrelin can increase by 28%, resulting in a 23% increase in hunger with a preference for high carbohydrate foods [70]. Similarly, Yang et al observed that after only one night of modest sleep curtailment, food cravings, food reward, and selected portion sizes of food increased in healthy women [161]. Such dysregulation of appetite control coupled with access to hyperpalatable UPFs with low satiety value [133], and reduced activity levels creates a perfectly obesogenic storm.…”