A Narrative Review on Sleep and Eating Behavior

This narrative review synthesizes current evidence on the role of various sleep parameters—including sleep duration, sleep quality, sleep timing, social jetlag, and chronotype—in energy intake, macronutrient consumption, diet quality, and meal timing. We aim to evaluate whether existing evidence supports a causal impact of sleep on eating behavior and discuss the clinical implications of these findings for diabetes care and management.

The impact of short sleep duration on eating behavior is the most widely studied and supported by experimental evidence suggesting that reduced sleep duration increases energy intake and promotes poorer diet quality. Later sleep timing is also associated with increased energy intake and poorer diet quality, and may interact with short sleep duration in influencing eating behavior. Chronotype, social jetlag, and sleep quality have also been linked to eating behavior; however, findings in these areas have been predominantly observational and cross-sectional, and may be confounded by co-occurring influences from other sleep parameters.

Given the strength of the evidence for the role of sleep duration in eating behavior, future studies should evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of sleep extension interventions for controlling energy intake and improving diet quality in patients with type 2 diabetes. Further research should also clarify and distinguish the independent and interacting influences of multiple sleep parameters on eating behavior, as well as the potential effects of eating behavior on sleep.