Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Snack Attack: Short Sleep Promotes an Increase in Snacking

A study (ID# 0355) being presented as a poster presentation this afternoon at SLEEP 2008 shows that people who restrict their sleep are likely to increase the amount of snacks they eat. The authors conclude that this behavior may contribute to the increased risk of weight gain and obesity associated with short sleep hours.

The study involved 11 healthy volunteers with an average age of 39 years. Caloric intake was monitored for 14 days when sleep was restricted to 5.5 hours in bed each night, and for 14 days of 8.5 hours in bed each night.

Results show that meal intake remained similar in the two conditions, but subjects consumed more energy from snacks during the period of sleep restriction. The carbohydrate content of snacks also increased during restricted sleep.

Energy expenditure was comparable during the two sleep conditions, as were the levels of leptin and ghrelin, two hormones involved in appetite regulation.

According to the
American Academy of Sleep Medicine, most adults need about seven to eight hours of sleep each night.

The SLEEP 2008 abstract book is available online at http://www.journalsleep.org/PDF/AbstractBook2008.pdf.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Do You Sleep Like You Eat?

Two studies from Brazil that are being presented as poster presentation this morning at SLEEP 2008 address the relationship between your sleep and the food you eat. Both studies involved 52 healthy subjects between the ages of 20 and 45 years.

One study (ID# 0084) found that both total energy intake and late-night snack energy intake are significantly correlated with awakenings during sleep. Both measures of energy intake also were correlated with apnea-hypopnea index, a measurement of the severity of obstructive sleep apnea.

Another study (ID# 0085) found that total fat intake is related to a number of sleep measures, including percentage of REM sleep, arousal index and apnea-hypopnea index. The study also found that fat intake at dinner is associated with sleep measures such as sleep efficiency and REM percentage. The results show that total fat intake and dinner fat intake seem to have a negative influence on the sleep pattern of healthy adults.

The SLEEP 2008 abstract book is available online at http://www.journalsleep.org/PDF/AbstractBook2008.pdf.