Partial sleep deprivation on dietary energy intake in healthy population: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies
PubMed 32960623 · doi:10.20960/nh.03108
What was done
A systematic review and meta-analysis of literature from PubMed, Scopus, Lilacs, and Embase (searched through February 2019) evaluated the effects of nocturnal sleep restriction versus habitual sleep on dietary energy intake, specific meals, and ghrelin and leptin levels in healthy populations. Eight articles met the inclusion criteria, and six provided data for the meta-analysis on total energy intake.
What was found
Partial sleep deprivation was associated with a significant increase in total energy intake compared to habitual sleep (effect estimate: 149.86 [95% CI: 10.09 to 289.63]; p = 0.04; units not reported in abstract), as well as higher intake across all macronutrients. The abstract reports no numerical data for individual macronutrients, meal timing, ghrelin, or leptin.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that partial sleep restriction acutely promotes increased caloric and macronutrient consumption, providing an empirical link between short sleep duration and metabolic or weight-gain risks.
Limits
The meta-analysis included only 6 studies, resulting in wide confidence intervals close to the null effect. The abstract omits total sample size, participant demographics, measurement units for energy intake, sleep restriction protocols, and quantitative results for appetite hormones.