Short sleep duration and obesity: mechanisms and future perspectives

Abstract

A reduction of sleep time has become common over the last century, and growing evidence from both epidemiological and laboratory‐based studies suggests sleep curtailment is a new risk factor for the development of obesity. On this basis, the present review examines the role of sleep curtailment in the metabolic and endocrine alterations, including decreased glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, increased evening concentrations of cortisol, increased levels of ghrelin, decreased levels of leptin and increased hunger and appetite. It will be discussed how sleep restriction may lead to increase in food intake and result in greater fatigue, which may favour decreased energy expenditure. Altogether, evidences point to a possible role of decreased sleep duration in the current epidemic of obesity and therefore present literature highlights the importance of getting enough good sleep for metabolic health. Many aspects still need to be clarified and intervention studies also need to be conducted. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Association between body size phenotype and sleep duration: Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V (KNHANES V)

“…Individuals with short sleep duration tend to feel more fatigue and have decreased daytime physical activity [2]. Gupta et al reported that the OR of obesity increased by 80% for each hour of decrease in sleep duration and daytime physical activity diminished by 3% for each hour of increase in sleep disturbance [28].…”

“…The self-reported sleep duration of Americans has decreased by 1.5-2 h over the last 40 years [1]. In 2009, the National Sleep Foundation reported that American adults sleep an average of 6 h and 40 min on weekdays [2]. Sleep duration and quality can significantly affect appetite, food intake, and energy balance, which may result in an increase in obesity [2].…”

“…In 2009, the National Sleep Foundation reported that American adults sleep an average of 6 h and 40 min on weekdays [2]. Sleep duration and quality can significantly affect appetite, food intake, and energy balance, which may result in an increase in obesity [2]. Therefore, much attention has been paid to the association between sleep duration and obesity and obesity-related disorders.…”

Relationship between carotid intima-media thickness, physical activity, sleep quality, metabolic/inflamatory profile, body fatness, smoking and alcohol consumption in young adults

“…Scientific literature generally states that humans spend about one-third of their time sleeping 2 . On the other hand, studies have shown that sleep time has decreased in different countries [3][4][5] and insomnia is the most common sleep disorder in young and middle-aged adults 6 . Recently, studies have shown that sleep disorders in adults have been associated with a large variety of diseases, such as obesity, arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus (DM) [7][8][9] , as well as increased cardiovascular morbidity/ mortality 10,11 .…”

“…Nowadays, the harmful effects associated with sleep disorders happen among several age groups, besides the elderly 12 . Recent studies have consistently demonstrated a close relationship between sleep disorder and cardiovascular diseases in different age groups, including adolescents 4,5,12 . In clinical practice, intima-media thickness, mainly carotid (CIMT), has been used as a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis 13 .…”