The effects of partial sleep deprivation on energy balance: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of human intervention studies
PubMed 27804960 · doi:10.1038/ejcn.2016.201
What was done
Systematic review and meta-analysis of human intervention studies evaluating the effects of partial sleep deprivation (PSD) compared with control conditions on energy intake (EI) and total energy expenditure (EE). Searches included EMBASE, Medline, Cochrane CENTRAL, Web of Science, and Scopus. Data were synthesized using random-effects inverse variance models. Secondary outcomes were resting metabolic rate (RMR) and macronutrient distribution.
What was found
Seventeen studies (n = 496) were eligible for the systematic review, with 11 studies (n = 172) providing sufficient data for meta-analysis. PSD significantly increased EI by 385 kcal (95% CI: 252, 517; P < 0.00001) compared with control. PSD caused no significant change in total EE or RMR. The increased intake was accompanied by significantly higher fat and lower protein intakes, with no effect on carbohydrate intake.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that the association between short sleep duration and weight gain is driven primarily by increased caloric and fat consumption rather than reductions in energy expenditure.
Limits
The meta-analysis was limited to 11 studies with a small aggregate sample size (n = 172). The abstract does not specify the duration of PSD interventions, participant demographics, baseline weight status, or risk of bias within included trials.