Nutritional Endocrinology Practitioner Training (NEPT)
Clinical Pearl
March 6th, 2016 

Sleep, Leptin, and Appetite: An Often Overlooked Cause of Weight Loss Resistance

Ever notice that your appetite increases when you don’t get a good night’s sleep? Imagine what happens with habitual poor or short sleep?

Short sleep duration has been associated with reduced leptin and elevated ghrelin. This can lead to increased appetite and increased BMI.

Here’s a link to an article that explains in detail why, in Western societies, where chronic sleep restriction is common and food is widely available, changes in the appetite regulatory hormones leptin and ghrelin with sleep deficit may contribute to obesity.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC535701/