Can more sleep mean 270 fewer calories a day?
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In one University of Chicago trial, 80 adults who slept under 6.5 hours were split in two. Half got one sleep-advice session. Nobody got a diet plan.
They slept about 1.2 hours more a night. Two weeks later, measured with a lab method instead of food diaries, the usual-sleep group ate 114.9 calories a day more than at the start, the sleep-advice group 155.5 fewer.
Sources
Tasali E, Wroblewski K, Kahn E, Kilkus J, Schoeller DA. Effect of Sleep Extension on Objectively Assessed Energy Intake Among Adults With Overweight in Real-life Settings: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med 2022;182(4):365-374. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.8098
What the study says
- “In this randomized clinical trial of 80 adults with overweight and habitual sleep less than 6.5 hours per night, those randomized to a 2-week sleep extension intervention significantly reduced their daily energy intake by approximately 270 kcal compared with the control group.”
- “Participants were adults aged 21 to 40 years with a body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) between 25.0 and 29.9 and had habitual sleep duration of less than 6.5 hours per night.”
- “After a 2-week habitual sleep period at baseline, participants were randomized to either an individualized sleep hygiene counseling session that was intended to extend their bedtime to 8.5 hours (sleep extension group) or to continue their habitual sleep (control group).”
- “Participants in the sleep extension group had a significant increase from baseline in mean sleep duration by actigraphy compared with those in the control group (1.2 hours; 95% CI, 1.0-1.4 hours;”
- “We did not systematically assess the factors that may have influenced sleep behavior, but limiting the use of electronic devices appeared to be a key intervention among the participants (eTable 4 in Supplement 2).”
Where it falls short
One study, two weeks. How long it lasts is unknown.
Unaddicted keeps every day you’ve earned, even after a slip.