Exploring the relationship between sleep and diet

Sleep patterns and eating habits can influence each other, but the link between these behaviors remains unclear. In a new JNeurosci paper, researchers led by William Ja, from the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology, used fruit flies (Drosophila) to explore how different kinds of sleep deprivation influence subsequent sleeping and feeding behavior. 

The researchers tested different sleep loss conditions and discovered that when fruit flies are sleep deprived to the point of energy loss, they compensate by feeding and sleeping more to restore their energy. When the flies experience sleep deprivation that doesn’t deprive them of energy, they do not eat or sleep more. 

According to the authors, this work shows that energy deprivation from lack of sleep is linked to an urge to consume and sleep more later. Says Ja, “I think our work adds credence to using less-intrusive, behavioral sleep interventions for alleviating eating and metabolic disorders. It is possible that by correcting sleep habits, cravings and eating habits will be easier to change. Our work also suggests that it might be hard to treat sleep or metabolic disorders in isolation—we may need to correct multiple behaviors, including sleep and eating habits, for successful therapeutic interventions.” 

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About JNeurosci 

JNeurosci was launched in 1981 as a means to communicate the findings of the highest quality neuroscience research to the growing field. Today, the journal remains committed to publishing cutting-edge neuroscience that will have an immediate and lasting scientific impact, while responding to authors' changing publishing needs, representing breadth of the field and diversity in authorship. 

About The Society for Neuroscience 

The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 35,000 members in more than 95 countries.