Adults who sleep less than 5 hours or more than 9 hours per night tend to eat a narrower range of foods and consume fewer calories overall than those who sleep 7 to 8 hours.
Evidence from Studies
No evidence studies found yet.
What Would Prove This
Per GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this claim, ordered from strongest to weakest.
A systematic review of prospective cohort studies could determine whether consistently short or long sleep predicts reduced dietary variety and energy intake over time across diverse populations.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of at least 15 prospective cohort studies with objective sleep measurement (actigraphy), repeated 24-hour dietary recalls over 2+ years, and adjustment for age, sex, BMI, physical activity, and socioeconomic status, focusing on adults aged 25–65 with no sleep disorders.
An RCT could determine whether experimentally restricting or extending sleep duration directly alters dietary variety and energy intake in controlled settings.
A double-blind, randomized controlled trial of 120 healthy adults aged 25–50 assigned to 5 hours, 7 hours, or 9 hours of time-in-bed for 4 weeks, with all meals provided and dietary intake monitored via weighed food records, measuring number of unique food items consumed daily and total kcal.
A prospective cohort study could determine whether individuals who consistently report short or long sleep over years develop reduced dietary variety and lower energy intake compared to normal sleepers.
A 5-year prospective cohort study of 5,000 U.S. adults aged 30–60, with annual actigraphy-based sleep monitoring and biannual 24-hour dietary recalls, adjusting for income, education, and physical activity, to assess whether sleep duration predicts changes in food variety and energy intake.
A case-control study could compare dietary patterns in adults with persistent short or long sleep versus normal sleepers, matched for confounders, to identify consistent nutrient intake differences.
A case-control study comparing 300 adults with self-reported very short (<5 h) or long (≥9 h) sleep for ≥2 years to 600 matched controls with normal sleep (7–8 h), using validated food frequency questionnaires and controlling for BMI, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
A cross-sectional study can confirm whether associations between sleep duration and dietary variety exist in a representative population at a single point in time.
A nationally representative cross-sectional survey using actigraphy and 24-hour dietary recalls in 10,000 U.S. adults, measuring food variety (number of unique food items) and total energy intake across sleep duration categories.