RCTHumann = 192015

Metabolic and hormonal effects of 'catch-up' sleep in men with chronic, repetitive, lifestyle-driven sleep restriction.

Journal: Clinical endocrinologyPublished: 2015DOI: 10.1111/cen.12747

Plain-language summary

This study looked at whether catching up on sleep at the weekend improves insulin sensitivity and hormones in men who habitually sleep too little in the week. Nineteen such men were compared across three nights of extended sleep, 10 hours in bed, and continued short sleep of 6 hours. Three nights of catch-up sleep improved insulin sensitivity and lowered fasting insulin, leptin and peptide YY (PYY, a gut hormone released after eating that signals fullness), while testosterone rose. Cortisol and luteinizing hormone (LH, a pituitary hormone that tells the testicles to make testosterone, so higher generally means more signal to produce it) did not show a significant change. Two other studies here, on total sleep deprivation and on five nights of restricted sleep, share an author with this one and are not independent of it.

Key findings

Three nights of catch-up sleep improved insulin sensitivity compared with continued short sleep.
Fasting insulin, leptin and peptide YY (PYY, a gut hormone that signals fullness) all fell with catch-up sleep.
Testosterone rose with catch-up sleep. Cortisol and luteinizing hormone did not show a significant change.
Suppressing slow wave sleep did not alter insulin sensitivity.

How to analyze the study yourself

Study type: Randomized trials assign people to groups by chance, so differences between groups are unlikely to come from who chose what, but the small sample size and short duration limit how broadly the findings can be applied.
Population: Men with a long-term pattern of short sleep during the week and weekend catch-up sleep.
Funding: NIH extramural funding
Takeaway: This study found that three nights of extended sleep improved insulin sensitivity and hormone balance in men who regularly skimp on sleep during the week. If you are chronically sleep-deprived, it may be worth prioritizing weekend catch-up sleep to help offset some of the metabolic effects.