After sleeping only 3.5 hours a night for three nights, young men reported feeling much hungrier and more tempted to eat, and less full after meals, even when they ate the same food as when they slept longer.
Scientific Claim
Three nights of shortened sleep (3.5 hours per night) in healthy young men caused a significant increase in subjective hunger (AUC +14%, p=0.021) and prospective food consumption (AUC +8.6%, p=0.035), while reducing fullness (AUC -12.9%, p=0.020), as measured by visual analogue scales during 48-hour calorimeter confinement.
Original Statement
“The area under the curves (AUCs) for the hungry and prospective to food consumption from visual analogue scale (VAS) scores were significantly increased, and the fullness score was significantly decreased over 24 h during the 3.5-h sleep condition on day 3/4 compared to the 7-h sleep condition (p = 0.021, p = 0.035, p = 0.020).”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
definitive
Can make definitive causal claims
Assessment Explanation
The RCT design with repeated, objective appetite measurements under controlled conditions supports definitive causal language. The p-values and effect sizes are robust and clearly reported.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Effect of shortened sleep on energy expenditure, core body temperature, and appetite: a human randomised crossover trial
When these men slept only 3.5 hours a night for three nights, they felt hungrier, wanted to eat more, and felt less full—exactly what the claim says.