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Sleep and Eating Disorders

  • Sleep Disorders (P Gehrman, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Insomnia is related to an increased risk of eating disorders, while eating disorders are related to more disrupted sleep. Insomnia is also linked to poorer treatment outcomes for eating disorders. However, over the last decade, studies examining sleep and eating disorders have relied on surveys, with no objective measures of sleep for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, and only actigraphy data for binge eating disorder. Sleep disturbance is better defined for night eating syndrome, where sleep efficiency is reduced and melatonin release is delayed. Studies that include objectively measured sleep and metabolic parameters combined with psychiatric comorbidity data would help identify under what circumstances eating disorders and sleep disturbance produce an additive effect for symptom severity and for whom poor sleep would increase risk for an eating disorder. Cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia may be a helpful addition to treatment of those with both eating disorder and insomnia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Kelly C. Allison, Andrea Spaeth & Christina M. Hopkins

  2. Center for Weight and Eating Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, 3535 Market St., 3rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Kelly C. Allison & Christina M. Hopkins

  3. Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology, Perelman School of Medicine, 504 Richards Medical Research Laboratories, 3700 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Andrea Spaeth

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  1. Kelly C. Allison
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  3. Christina M. Hopkins
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Correspondence to Kelly C. Allison.

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Kelly C. Allison, Andrea Spaeth, and Christina M. Hopkins declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Sleep Disorders

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Allison, K.C., Spaeth, A. & Hopkins, C.M. Sleep and Eating Disorders. Curr Psychiatry Rep 18, 92 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-016-0728-8

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