Acute sleep deprivation reduces energy expenditure in healthy men.

Background: Epidemiologic evidence indicates that chronic sleep curtailment increases risk of developing obesity, but the mechanisms behind this relation are largely unknown.

Objective: We examined the influence of a single night of total sleep deprivation on morning energy expenditures and food intakes in healthy humans.

Design: According to a balanced crossover design, we examined 14 normal-weight male subjects on 2 occasions during a regular 24-h sleep-wake cycle (including 8 h of nocturnal sleep) and a 24-h period of continuous wakefulness.