Study: Bad sleeping habits shift appetite

When college students do not sleep enough, they are more likely to eat junk food -- and yet may take in relatively few calories.

A new study by former Penn Psychology professor Dean Cruess, who now teaches at the University of Connecticut, shows a correlation between lack of sleep in college students and the tendency to eat less healthful foods.

Interestingly enough, however, subjects' caloric intake decreased even as they slept less.

For students at Penn, planning a sleep schedule should now include extra diet considerations, according to Nursing professor Terri Weaver, who studies sleep deprivation.

The "bottom line is that there are differences in performance, change in appetite and obesity between an eight-hour night and a five-hour night," she said.

The study involved 50 undergraduate students who slept eight hours one night and four or fewer the next night.

Participants tended to choose faster and less healthful food options after the sleep-deprived nights.

Weaver said sleeplessness may have lent itself to decreased motivation to search for healthful options.

"Most likely, to satiate yourself, you are going to turn to something that can be made quickly, and that is most often convenience foods, which are higher in fat," she said.

But the fact that sleep-deprived participants took in fewer calories than those who slept eight hours puzzles many researchers. Weaver said that many prior studies have found that sleep deprivation is related to higher caloric intake.

Penn students seemed to identify with the study's results.

College sophomore Brittany Jones pointed out that reasons for not sleeping may also affect eating habits.

"I definitely eat more when I don't sleep a lot. [But] it really depends on why it is that you're not sleeping," she said. "If you're working a lot, then you're probably not eating. If you're partying, then you're probably not worried about where your next meal is coming from."

College sophomore Danielle Knight, however, said that she tends to eat less when she sleeps less, mostly due to increased stress.

The actual food items consumed while staying up past a regular bedtime may account for the increase in unhealthy food choices. Wharton sophomore Amanda Ballate pointed to "the coffee, the Red Bull [and] the chips" students may be using to keep themselves going through a long night.

"Students tend to eat unhealthy food when they stay up late ... as opposed to eating unhealthy in the morning" she said.

Office of Health Education Director Susan Villari said choosing unhealthy food was only one consequence of lack of sleep.

"When you're sleep-deprived or your sleep schedule is very erratic, your hunger cues are different," she said.

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