Just a few days ago, we talked about how engaging in exercise allows for higher quality sleep at night. Many studies have shown a relationship between physical fitness and sleep, such as that women are more likely to meet their weight loss goals if they get at least seven hours of sleep each night. Now, a new causes of overeating study indicates that getting too little sleep at night could cause you to overeat the next day. Although some additional calories are necessary to compensate for the lack of sleep, the study found that people tend to overcompensate and take in too many calories as a result.

While the study seemed to only concentrate on calories, it should be noted that other qualities of food may have played a role in participants’ weight gain. Late-night snacks, for example, sometimes consist of high-fat processed foods, junk food or candy.

Too Little Sleep, Too Many Calories

The study was admittedly small, including just 16 individuals. Half were male, half were female, and all were approximately 22 years of age. The participants were asked to sleep in a laboratory at the University of Colorado for two weeks. On average, participants gained nearly two pounds over the course of five nights in which they were only allowed to sleep for five hours per night. The participants were then allowed to sleep for up to nine hours per night for the rest of the study period. This resulted in them eating less and losing some, though not all, of the weight they gained.

Each day of the study, researchers measured the subjects’ intake of oxygen and food, as well as their output of carbon dioxide. The researchers also measured the number of calories the participants burned each day. They concluded that people gain weight due to a lack of sleep because they tend to eat more calories than would be necessary to compensate for their depleted energy levels.

Specifically, the researchers found that participants tended to eat less breakfast, eat more over the remainder of the day, and eat far more calories late at night when they received five hours of sleep the previous night as opposed to nine hours.

Hormonal Effects

Ghrelin and leptin are the two hormones primarily responsible for delivering signals of satiety and hunger to the brain. The researchers said that levels of ghrelin and leptin were measured at expected levels during the study, and that changes to these hormonal levels didn’t account for the increased caloric intake among the participants. However, the researchers said that these hormones could reach abnormal levels if sleep deprivation continued for an extended period of time.

Healthy Sleep: A Crucial Component of Any Fitness Plan

Kenneth Wright, one of the lead researchers behind the study, said that getting extra sleep will not result in weight loss by itself. However, many studies have shown that getting too little sleep is a hindrance to both weight loss and muscle development, even if you regularly exercise and eat a healthy diet.

It’s also important to remember that all individuals are different, and your body may react differently to a lack of sleep as compared to the people involved in this study. At the same time, a growing body of evidence strongly suggests that consistent, high quality sleep is a necessary component of physical fitness, mental health and overall well-being.

Causes of Overeating: The Bottom Line

Getting too little sleep at night could have you eating more calories than you should to compensate the next day, according to a new study. This can result in weight gain, especially if the pattern continues over several days or longer. A number of studies have shown that sufficient sleep is just as important to overall fitness as are exercise and sound eating habits.