Study Objectives: To examine the effects of moderate sleep restriction (SR) on body weight, body composition, and metabolic variables in individuals undergoing caloric restriction (CR).
Methods:Overweight or obese adults were randomized to an 8 week caloric restriction (CR) regimen alone (n = 15) or combined with sleep restriction (CR + SR) (n = 21). All participants were instructed to restrict daily calorie intake to 95 per cent of their measured resting metabolic rate. Participants in the CR + SR group were also instructed to reduce time in bed on five nights and to sleep ad libitum on the other two nights each week.
Results:The CR + SR group reduced sleep by 57 ± 36 min per day during SR days and increased sleep by 59 ± 38 min per day during ad libitum sleep days, resulting in a sleep reduction of 169 ± 75 min per week. The CR and CR + SR groups lost similar amounts of weight, lean mass, and fat mass. However, the proportion of total mass lost as fat was significantly greater (p = 0.016) in the CR group. This proportion was greater than body fat percentage at baseline for the CR (p = 0.0035), but not the CR + SR group. Resting respiratory quotient was reduced (p = 0.033) only in CR, and fasting leptin concentration was reduced only in CR + SR (p = 0.029).Conclusions: Approximately 1 hr of SR on five nights a week led to less proportion of fat mass loss in individuals undergoing hypocaloric weight loss, despite similar weight loss. SR may adversely affect changes in body composition and "catch-up" sleep may not completely reverse it.
Clinical trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02413866)Key words: sleep restriction; weight loss; body composition; chronic; caloric restriction
Statement of SignificancePrevious studies suggest that sleep restriction during caloric restriction adversely affects weight-loss outcomes. This study extends previous findings by examining the effects of a much longer duration of intervention (8 weeks) using a randomized controlled trial (caloric restriction alone or combined with sleep restriction). Furthermore, the sleep restriction was moderate, approximated 60 min shorter on the 5 days of restricted sleep each week. Ad libitum sleep was allowed on the other 2 days each week so that the sleep pattern mimicked real life. We found that sleep restriction resulted in less loss of fat but greater loss of lean mass among the total mass lost, despite similar weight loss between the two groups. Other metabolic changes were also observed.