A sleep diet? The link between sleep and weight has been studied extensively. There are reasons to assume that sleep deprivation leads to obesity.
Two hormones
Sleep deprivation has a direct influence on two hormones. Leptin, which tells your brain you have eaten enough, falls at 5 hours of sleep or less. Ghrelin, which signals hunger, rises the less you sleep. The result: more hunger and the tendency to eat more.
In the longer term
People with chronic sleep deprivation burn body fat more slowly and, already at a young age, more often have a BMI that is too high.
The right dose
But sleep is no miracle cure. It is about sleeping enough: 7 to 8 hours. Appetite normalises. Energy returns. Whoever wants to lose weight and does not sleep enough runs into a biological wall. Begin with the night. The rest follows more easily.