Metabolic Effects of Sleep Extension in People With Obesity

Metabolic Effects of Sleep Extension in People With Obesity

This study is designed to determine the impact of extending sleep duration on glucose metabolism in people with obesity. Half of the participants will be instructed to increase their time-in-bed in order to achieve >7h sleep/night (sleep extension; n=15) while the other half will be be instructed to maintain their current sleep habits (n=15).

Restricting sleep is known to be detrimental to glucose metabolism in healthy adults. Obesity is a condition associated with both lower sleep duration and poor glucose tolerance. Therefore, increasing sleep duration is a potentially novel therapeutic strategy for improving glucose metabolism in this population. The investigators will assess this by determining insulin sensitivity during a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp before and after a sleep intervention in both the control and sleep extension groups.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Sleep <7h/night
• Body mass index 25-50 kg/m2
• Altered glucose metabolism (any of the following) Fasting glucose 100-125 mg/dL or, 2-h plasma glucose 140-199 mg/dL during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) or, HbA1c 5.7-6.4% or, homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) ≥2.0

Exclusion Criteria:

• Sleep disorders

  1. moderate to severe sleep apnea (apnea-hypopnea index ≥15 events/hour)
  2. had ≥15 periodic limb movements per hour sleep [PLMS]
  3. narcolepsy or insomnia

• Perform shift work

• Excessive caffeine or alcohol consumption

• Significant organ dysfunction/disease (e.g. diabetes mellitus, kidney disease)

• Liver disease other than metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)

• Prior bariatric surgery

• Pregnancy or breastfeeding

• Taking medications that can affect study outcomes (alter sleep duration or glucose metabolism)

• Tobacco or illicit drug use

• Perform intense exercise >70 min/wk or moderate exercise >150 min/week

• Excessive alcohol consumption (>21 units of alcohol per week for men and >14 units of alcohol per week for women)