For adults between 30 and 60, not getting enough sleep doesn’t seem to mess with blood sugar or insulin levels once you account for body weight—instead, it’s probably the hunger hormones that connect poor sleep to gaining weight.

0

Pro

47

Against

Evidence from Studies

Supporting (0)

0

Community contributions welcome

No supporting evidence found

Contradicting (1)

47

Community contributions welcome

47

Short Sleep Duration Is Associated with Reduced Leptin, Elevated Ghrelin, and Increased Body Mass Index

Cohort Study

Human

2004 Dec

This study found that people who sleep less have changes in hunger hormones (leptin and ghrelin) that make them feel hungrier, but their blood sugar and insulin levels weren’t meaningfully affected by sleep—so sleep affects weight mainly by making you hungrier, not by messing with how your body processes sugar.

Gold Standard Evidence Needed

According to GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this specific claim, ordered from strongest to weakest evidence.

Source Study

Short Sleep Duration Is Associated with Reduced Leptin, Elevated Ghrelin, and Increased Body Mass Index

Score: 47

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0010062

Similar Assertions

People who sleep only 5 hours a night tend to have lower levels of a hormone that tells your brain you're full, compared to those who sleep 8 hours — even if they're the same weight or age — which might make them feel hungrier.

47

0

72%

If you only sleep 5 hours instead of 8, your body might produce more of a hormone that makes you feel hungrier — even if you’re the same weight, age, or sex as someone who sleeps longer.

47

0

71%