0196 ACTIGRAPHY-ASSESSED SLEEP AND CONSUMPTION OF HIGHLY PALATABLE FOOD IN CONTROLLED AND NATUALISTIC ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

Introduction:

Objectives: The present study examines whether naturalistic sleep measured by actigraphy is associated with greater consumption of calorie-dense food in controlled and free-living environments. It was hypothesized that shorter sleep duration, later bedtime, and later wake time would be associated with greater consumption of highly palatable food.

Methods:

Data were obtained from 78 healthy young adults. Participants carried a wrist actigraphy and completed food dairies for seven days. They then completed a laboratory food tasting task in which their caloric consumption was measured. Regression models were conducted to examine the associations between the consumption of highly palatable food in the laboratory food tasting task and sleep in the prior night. Mixed models were used to examine the within-individual and between-individual effects of sleep on daily consumption of highly palatable food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.

Results:

Later wake time in the prior night was associated with lower consumption of highly palatable food in the laboratory food consumption task (b = -.85, p =.02). There was a decrease of 51 calories consumed for an hour later in wake time. Mixed modeling analysis showed that longer sleep duration was associated with greater likelihood of consuming highly palatable food for breakfast (γ = .007, p<.001) while later bedtime was associated with lower likelihood of consuming highly palatable food for breakfast (γ = -.011, p<.001). Later wake time was marginally associated with higher likelihood of consuming highly palatable food for dinner after adjusting for multiple comparisons (γ = .004, p=.041).

Conclusion:

Shorter sleep duration and later sleep timing were associated with a distribution of energy intake characterized by lower consumption of calorie-dense food earlier in the day but potentially greater consumption of calorie-dense food later in the day. This distribution of energy intake might mediate the association between poor sleep and the risk of obesity.

Support (If Any):

This research was supported by Indiana University.