Fruit fly study reveals link between sleep deprivation and eating behavior

Sleep patterns and eating habits can influence each other, but the link between these behaviors remains unclear. In a new JNeurosci paper, researchers led by William Ja, from the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology, used fruit flies (Drosophila) to explore how different kinds of sleep deprivation influence subsequent sleeping and feeding behavior. 

The researchers tested different sleep loss conditions and discovered that when fruit flies are sleep deprived to the point of energy loss, they compensate by feeding and sleeping more to restore their energy. When the flies experience sleep deprivation that doesn't deprive them of energy, they do not eat or sleep more. 

According to the authors, this work shows that energy deprivation from lack of sleep is linked to an urge to consume and sleep more later. Says Ja, "I think our work adds credence to using less-intrusive, behavioral sleep interventions for alleviating eating and metabolic disorders. It is possible that by correcting sleep habits, cravings and eating habits will be easier to change. Our work also suggests that it might be hard to treat sleep or metabolic disorders in isolation-we may need to correct multiple behaviors, including sleep and eating habits, for successful therapeutic interventions."