Chronic sleep restriction differentially affects implicit biases toward food among men and women: preliminary evidence

Anna Alkozei, William D.S. Killgore, Ryan Smith, Natalie S. Dailey, Sahil Bajaj, Adam C. Raikes, Monika Haack

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Chronic sleep restriction and obesity are two major public health concerns. This study investigated how chronic sleep restriction changes implicit attitudes towards low- and high-calorie foods. In a randomized, counterbalanced cross-over design, 17 participants (eight females, nine males) underwent two laboratory testing sessions where they were either sleep-restricted for 3 weeks (i.e. underwent three weekly cycles of 5 nights of 4 h of sleep followed by 2 nights of 8 h of sleep opportunity) or received 3 weeks of control sleep (i.e. 8 h of sleep opportunity per night for 3 weeks). There was evidence for a significant sleep condition x sex interaction (F(1, 20) = 4.60, P = 0.04). After chronic sleep restriction, men showed a trend towards a significant decrease in their implicit attitudes favouring low-calorie foods (P = 0.08), whereas women did not show a significant change (P = 0.16). Men may be at increased risk of weight gain when sleep-deprived due to a reduced bias towards low-calorie foods.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere12629
JournalJournal of Sleep Research
Volume27
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • fatigue
  • food preferences
  • gender differences
  • sleep restriction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Neuroscience

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