Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Sleep deprivation and human energy metabolism

  • Chapter
Handbook of nutrition, diet and sleep

Part of the book series: Human Health Handbooks ((HHH,volume 3))

  • 2298 Accesses

Abstract

Driven by the demands and opportunities of modern life many people now sleep less than 6 hrs per night. In the sleep clinic, this behavior may present as a diagnosis of insufficient sleep syndrome (ICSD-9, #307.49-4) which is receiving increased attention as a potential risk factor for obesity and related metabolic morbidity. A central theme of this chapter is the notion that extended wakefulness has higher metabolic cost, which triggers a set of neuroendocrine (e.g. more hunger and less satiety), metabolic (e.g. lower resting metabolic rate), and behavioral (e.g. reduced daily activity) adaptations aimed at increasing food intake and conserving energy. Although this coordinated response may have evolved to offset the metabolic demands of sleeplessness in natural habitats with limited food availability, it can become maladaptive in a modern environment which allows many to overeat while maintaining a sedentary lifestyle without sufficient sleep. Growing experimental evidence now suggests that such sleep-loss-related metabolic adaptation could: (a) lead to increased retention of fat when people aim to return to their usual weight after various life events associated with excessive food intake; and (b) undermine the success of therapies combining reduced food intake and increased physical activity to decrease metabolic risk in obesity-prone individuals. Emerging observational and clinical trial data are consistent with this experimental framework, making it prudent to recommend that overweight and obese individuals attempting to reduce their caloric intake and maintain increased physical activity should obtain adequate sleep and seek effective treatment for any coexisting sleep disorders.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Allebrandt, K.V., Amin, N., Muller-Myhsok, B., Esko, T., Teder-Laving, M., Azevedo, R.V., Hayward, C., Van Mill, J., Vogelzangs, N., Green, E.W., Melville, S.A., Lichtner, P., Wichmann, H.E., Oostra, B.A., Janssens, A.C., Campbell, H., Wilson, J.F., Hicks, A.A., Pramstaller, P.P., Dogas, Z., Rudan, I., Merrow, M., Penninx, B., Kyriacou, C.P., Metspalu, A., Van Duijn, C.M., Meitinger, T. and Roenneberg, T., 2011. A K(ATP) channel gene effect on sleep duration: from genome-wide association studies to function in Drosophila. Molecular Psychiatry (in press), DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/mp.2011.142.

  • Benedict, C., Hallschmid, M., Lassen, A., Mahnke, C., Schultes, B., Schioth, H.B., Born, J. and Lange, T., 2011. Acute sleep deprivation reduces energy expenditure in healthy men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 93, 1229–1236.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Booth, J.N., Bromley, L., Darukhanavala, A., Whitmore, H.R., Imperial, J. and Penev, P., 2012. Reduced physical activity in adults at risk for type 2 diabetes who curtail their sleep. Obesity (Silver Spring) 20, 278–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosy-Westphal, A., Hinrichs, S., Jauch-Chara, K., Hitze, B., Later, W., Wilms, B., Settler, U., Peters, A., Kiosz, D. and Muller, M.J., 2008. Influence of partial sleep deprivation on energy balance and insulin sensitivity in healthy women. Obesity Facts 1, 266–273.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bromley, L., Booth, J.N., Alcantar, L., Imperial, J. and Penev, P., 2011. Experimental sleep restriction reduces physical activity in adults with parental history of type 2 diabetes. Endocrine Reviews 32, P2-535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brondel, L., Romer, M.A., Nougues, P.M., Touyarou, P. and Davenne, D., 2010. Acute partial sleep deprivation increases food intake in healthy men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 91, 1550–1559.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, M.E., Borg, J.S. and De Lecea, L., 2009. The brain hypocretins and their receptors: mediators of allostatic arousal. Current Opinion in Pharmacology 9, 39–45.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chaput, J.P., Despres, J.P., Bouchard, C., Astrup, A. and Tremblay, A., 2009. Sleep duration as a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes or impaired glucose tolerance: analyses of the Quebec Family Study. Sleep Medicine 10, 919–924.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chaput, J.P., Despres, J.P., Bouchard, C. and Tremblay, A., 2007. Short sleep duration is associated with reduced leptin levels and increased adiposity: Results from the Quebec family study. Obesity (Silver Spring) 15, 253–261.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chaput, J.P., Despres, J.P., Bouchard, C. and Tremblay, A., 2011. Longer sleep duration associates with lower adiposity gain in adult short sleepers. International Journal of Obesity (Lond) 36, 752–756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dulloo, A.G., Jacquet, J. and Montani, J.P., 2002. Pathways from weight fluctuations to metabolic diseases: focus on maladaptive thermogenesis during catch-up fat. International Journal of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders: Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity 26 Suppl 2, S46-57.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Elder, C.R., Gullion, C.M., Funk, K.L., Debar, L.L., Lindberg, N.M. and Stevens, V.J., 2012. Impact of sleep, screen time, depression and stress on weight change in the intensive weight loss phase of the LIFE study. International Journal of Obesity (Lond) 36, 86–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garaulet, M., Ortega, F.B., Ruiz, J.R., Rey-Lopez, J.P., Beghin, L., Manios, Y., Cuenca-Garcia, M., Plada, M., Diethelm, K., Kafatos, A., Molnar, D., Al-Tahan, J. and Moreno, L.A., 2011a. Short sleep duration is associated with increased obesity markers in European adolescents: effect of physical activity and dietary habits. The HELENA study. International Journal of Obesity (Lond) 35, 1308–1317.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garaulet, M., Sanchez-Moreno, C., Smith, C.E., Lee, Y.C., Nicolas, F. and Ordovas, J.M., 2011b. Ghrelin, sleep reduction and evening preference: relationships to CLOCK 3111 T/C SNP and weight loss. Public library of Science One 6, e17435.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gluck, M.E., Venti, C.A., Salbe, A.D., Votruba, S.B. and Krakoff, J., 2011. Higher 24-h respiratory quotient and higher spontaneous physical activity in nighttime eaters. Obesity (Silver Spring) 19, 319–323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grandner, M.A., Kripke, D.F., Naidoo, N. and Langer, R.D., 2010. Relationships among dietary nutrients and subjective sleep, objective sleep, and napping in women. Sleep Medicine 11, 180–184.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A.L., Xu, F., Babineau, D. and Patel, S.R., 2011. Sleep duration and circulating adipokine levels. Sleep 34, 147–152.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, J.O., Wyatt, H.R., Reed, G.W. and Peters, J.C., 2003. Obesity and the environment: where do we go from here? Science 299, 853–855.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horne, J., 2011. Obesity and short sleep: unlikely bedfellows? Obesity Review 12, e84-94.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hursel, R., Rutters, F., Gonnissen, H.K., Martens, E.A. and Westerterp-Plantenga, M.S., 2011. Effects of sleep fragmentation in healthy men on energy expenditure, substrate oxidation, physical activity, and exhaustion measured over 48 h in a respiratory chamber. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 94, 804–808.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jung, C.M., Melanson, E.L., Frydendall, E.J., Perreault, L., Eckel, R.H. and Wright, K.P., 2011. Energy expenditure during sleep, sleep deprivation and sleep following sleep deprivation in adult humans. Journal of Physiology 589, 235–244.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knutson, K.L., Galli, G., Zhao, X., Mattingly, M. and Cizza, G., 2011. No association between leptin levels and sleep duration or quality in obese adults. Obesity (Silver Spring) 19, 2433–2435.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McEwen, B.S. and Wingfield, J.C., 2011. What is in a name? Integrating homeostasis, allostasis and stress. Hormones and Behavior 57, 105–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meisinger, C., Heier, M., Lowel, H., Schneider, A. and Doring, A., 2007. Sleep duration and sleep complaints and risk of myocardial infarction in middle-aged men and women from the general population: the MONICA/KORA Augsburg cohort study. Sleep 30, 1121–1127.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nedeltcheva, A., Zhou, M., Imperial, J., Benyavkaya, Y. and Penev, P., 2010a. Effects of sleep restriction on glucose regulation during diet-induced weight loss. Sleep 33, A22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nedeltcheva, A.V., Kilkus, J.M., Imperial, J., Kasza, K., Schoeller, D.A. and Penev, P.D., 2009. Sleep curtailment is accompanied by increased intake of calories from snacks. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89, 126–133.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nedeltcheva, A.V., Kilkus, J.M., Imperial, J., Schoeller, D.A. and Penev, P.D., 2010b. Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity. Annals of Internal Medicine 153, 435–441.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nishiura, C., Noguchi, J. and Hashimoto, H., 2010. Dietary patterns only partially explain the effect of short sleep duration on the incidence of obesity. Sleep 33, 753–757.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Omisade, A., Buxton, O.M. and Rusak, B., 2010. Impact of acute sleep restriction on cortisol and leptin levels in young women. Physiol Behav 99, 651–656.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pejovic, S., Vgontzas, A.N., Basta, M., Tsaoussoglou, M., Zoumakis, E., Vgontzas, A., Bixler, E.O. and Chrousos, G.P., 2010. Leptin and hunger levels in young healthy adults after one night of sleep loss. Journal of Sleep Research 19, 552–558.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Penev, P.D., 2007. Sleep deprivation and energy metabolism: to sleep, perchance to eat? Current Opinions in Endocrinology Diabetes and Obesity 14, 374–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roehrs, T., Turner, L. and Roth, T., 2000. Effects of sleep loss on waking actigraphy. Sleep 23, 793–797.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, M. and Leibel, R.L., 2010. Adaptive thermogenesis in humans. International Journal of Obesity (Lond) 34 Suppl 1, S47-55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmid, S.M., Hallschmid, M., Jauch-Chara, K., Born, J. and Schultes, B., 2008. A single night of sleep deprivation increases ghrelin levels and feelings of hunger in normal-weight healthy men. Journal of Sleep Research 17, 331–334.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schmid, S.M., Hallschmid, M., Jauch-Chara, K., Wilms, B., Benedict, C., Lehnert, H., Born, J. and Schultes, B., 2009. Short-term sleep loss decreases physical activity under free-living conditions but does not increase food intake under time-deprived laboratory conditions in healthy men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 90, 1476–1482.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, N.S., Banks, S. and Dinges, D.F., 2010. Sleep restriction is associated with increased morning plasma leptin concentrations, especially in women. Biological Research for Nursing 12, 47–53.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spiegel, K., Leproult, R., L’Hermite-Baleriaux, M., Copinschi, G., Penev, P.D. and Van Cauter, E., 2004a. Leptin levels are dependent on sleep duration: relationships with sympathovagal balance, carbohydrate regulation, cortisol, and thyrotropin. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 89, 5762–5771.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spiegel, K., Tasali, E., Penev, P. and Van Cauter, E., 2004b. Brief communication: Sleep curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite. Annals of Internal Medicine 141, 846–850.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • St-Onge, M.P., Roberts, A.L., Chen, J., Kelleman, M., O’Keeffe, M., RoyChoudhury, A. and Jones, P.J., 2011. Short sleep duration increases energy intakes but does not change energy expenditure in normal-weight individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 94, 410–416.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sumithran, P., Prendergast, L.A., Delbridge, E., Purcell, K., Shulkes, A., Kriketos, A. and Proietto, J., 2011. Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. New England Journal of Medicine 365, 1597–1604.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taheri, S., Lin, E., Austin, D., Young, T. and Mignot, E., 2004. Short sleep duration is associated with reduced leptin, elevated ghrelin, and increased body mass index. Public Library of Science Medicine 1, e62.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tsujino, N. and Sakurai, T., 2009. Orexin/hypocretin: a neuropeptide at the interface of sleep, energy homeostasis, and reward system. Pharmacology Review 61, 162–176.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vgontzas, A.N., Lin, H.M., Papaliaga, M., Calhoun, S., Vela-Bueno, A., Chrousos, G.P. and Bixler, E.O., 2008. Short sleep duration and obesity: the role of emotional stress and sleep disturbances. International Journal of Obesity (Lond) 32, 801–809.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, A., Xu, F., Storfer-Isser, A., Thomas, A., Ievers-Landis, C.E. and Redline, S., 2010. The association of sleep duration with adolescents’ fat and carbohydrate consumption. Sleep 33, 1201–1209.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Ave., MC-1027, Chicago, Illinois, 60637, USA

    P. D. Penev

Authors
  1. P. D. Penev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. D. Penev .

Editor information

Victor R. Preedy Vinood B. Patel Lan-Anh Le

Summary points

Summary points

  • Mammalian evolution has established reciprocal connections between sleep and energy homeostasis.

  • Driven by the demands and opportunities of modern life many people sleep less than 6 hrs a night. Such short sleep has been associated with increased risk of obesity.

  • Extended wakefulness has higher metabolic cost which leads to compensatory neuroendocrine, metabolic, and behavioral changes to stimulate food intake and conserve energy. These changes share principal similarities with the pattern of human metabolic adaptation to negative energy balance.

  • Although this response may have evolved to offset the metabolic cost of extended wakefulness in habitats with limited food availability, it can become maladaptive in a modern environment which allows many to overeat while maintaining a sedentary lifestyle without sufficient sleep.

  • Sleep-loss-induced metabolic adaptation can: (a) lead to increased retention of fat when people aim to return to their usual weight after life events associated with excessive food intake; and (b) undermine the success of behavioral interventions involving decreased food intake and increased physical activity to reduce metabolic risk in obesity-prone individuals.

  • Overweight and obese individuals attempting to reduce their caloric intake and maintain increased physical activity should obtain adequate sleep.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Wageningen Academic Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Penev, P.D. (2013). Sleep deprivation and human energy metabolism. In: Preedy, V.R., Patel, V.B., Le, LA. (eds) Handbook of nutrition, diet and sleep. Human Health Handbooks, vol 3. Wageningen Academic Publishers, Wageningen. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-763-9_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation