Simon, S. L., Field, J., Miller, L. E., DiFrancesco, M., & Beebe, D. W. (2015). Sweet/dessert foods are more appealing to adolescents after sleep restriction. PloS one, 10(2), e0115434.

Full text

Abstract

Study Objective

Examine the effect of experimental sleep restriction (SR) on adolescents' subjective hunger and perceived appeal of sweet/dessert foods versus other foods. A secondary goal was to replicate previous findings on the effects of SR on dietary intake.

Design

Randomized cross-over sleep restriction-extension paradigm.

Setting

Sleep was obtained and monitored at home. Outcome measures were gathered during office visits.

Participants

31 typically-developing adolescents aged 14-17 years.

Interventions

The three-week protocol consisted of a baseline week, followed randomly by five consecutive nights of SR (6.5 hours in bed) versus healthy sleep duration (HS; 10 hours in bed), a 2-night wash-out period, and a 5-night cross-over.

Measurements

Sleep was monitored via actigraphy. The morning after each experimental condition, teens rated their hunger, underwent a 24-hour diet recall interview, and rated the appeal of a series of pictures of sweet/dessert foods (e.g., ice cream, candy) and non-sweets (meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables).

Results

Teens rated pictures of sweet/dessert foods to be more appealing after SR than after HS (Cohen's d = .41, t = 2.07, p = .045). The sleep manipulation did not affect self-reported hunger or the appeal of non-sweet foods (p >.10). Consistent with our prior work, intake of overall calories was 11% higher and consumption of sweet/dessert servings was 52% greater during SR than HS.

Conclusions

Adolescent SR appears to increase the subjective appeal of sweet/dessert foods, indicating a potential mechanism by which SR might contribute to weight gain and the risk for obesity and chronic illness.

MeSH Terms
    Actigraphy
    Adolescent
    Cross-Over Studies
    Diet*
    Female
    Food Preferences/physiology*
    Humans
    Hunger/physiology*
    Male
    Photic Stimulation
    Sleep/physiology*
    Sleep Deprivation/psychology*