Adverse Metabolic Consequences in Humans of Prolonged Sleep Restriction Combined with Circadian Disruption

Sci Transl Med 11 April 2012:
Vol. 4, Issue 129, p. 129ra43
Sci. Transl. Med. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3003200

• Research Article

Obesity and Diabetes

Adverse Metabolic Consequences in Humans of Prolonged Sleep Restriction Combined with Circadian Disruption

1. Orfeu M. Buxton¹,²,*,
2. Sean W. Cain¹,²,
3. Shawn P. O’Connor¹,
4. James H. Porter¹,
5. Jeanne F. Duffy¹,²,
6. Wei Wang¹,²,
7. Charles A. Czeisler¹,² and
8. Steven A. Shea¹,²

+ Author Affiliations

1. ¹Division of Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
2. ²Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

1. ↵*To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: orfeu_buxton@hms.harvard.edu

Abstract

Epidemiological studies link short sleep duration and circadian disruption with higher risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. We tested the hypotheses that prolonged sleep restriction with concurrent circadian disruption, as can occur in people performing shift work, impairs glucose regulation and metabolism. Healthy adults spent >5 weeks under controlled laboratory conditions in which they experienced an initial baseline segment of optimal sleep, 3 weeks of sleep restriction (5.6 hours of sleep per 24 hours) combined with circadian disruption (recurring 28-hour “days”), followed by 9 days of recovery sleep with circadian re-entrainment. Exposure to prolonged sleep restriction with concurrent circadian disruption, with measurements taken at the same circadian phase, decreased the participants’ resting metabolic rate and increased plasma glucose concentrations after a meal, an effect resulting from inadequate pancreatic insulin secretion. These parameters normalized during the 9 days of recovery sleep and stable circadian re-entrainment. Thus, in humans, prolonged sleep restriction with concurrent circadian disruption alters metabolism and could increase the risk of obesity and diabetes.

• Copyright © 2012, American Association for the Advancement of Science

Citation: O. M. Buxton, S. W. Cain, S. P. O’Connor, J. H. Porter, J. F. Duffy, W. Wang, C. A. Czeisler, S. A. Shea, Adverse Metabolic Consequences in Humans of Prolonged Sleep Restriction Combined with Circadian Disruption. Sci. Transl. Med. 4, 129ra43 (2012).

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