Short Term Effects of Increasing Sleep Duration

Increasing Sleep Duration: A Novel Approach to Weight Control

A series of studies are proposed to develop an intervention to increase sleep duration and study the effects on eating, exercise, and weight control. The hypothesis is that increasing sleep duration will help improve weight loss and maintenance.

Study 1 is conducted in a sleep laboratory. Participants sleep short duration (approximately four hours per night) on one weekend and long duration (approximately nine hours per night) on another weekend.

Study 2 is examining ways to increase sleep duration in overweight individuals with short sleep and examining the effects on short term weight loss.

Study 3 is comparing a standard weight loss program with a novel Sleep+Weight Loss intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• age 25 to 45;
• BMI 25 to 50;
• healthy;
• sleep 6.5 hours or less per night

Exclusion Criteria:

• use of sleep medications;
• sleep apnea;
• third shift worker