Leptin is a hormone that is produced as an appetite suppressant when the body has eaten enough food, therefore communicating to the body to stop eating. A study by the University of Chicago has shown that sleep deprivation can affect the levels of leptin that the body produces, which can lead to obesity. In an article by Lloyd de Vries for CBS News, Eve Van Cauter, the lead researcher for the study said, "The decrease [of leptin] appears to send an erroneous signal from the brain that more food is needed when, in fact, enough food has been eaten."

On the Other: More Leptin Leads to Deeper Sleep

In a study by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, researchers injected both normally fed and food-deprived rats with leptin to study whether food intake relates to sleep quality. After the leptin was administered to normally fed rats, researchers discovered that the duration of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep decreased by 30 percent while SWS (slow wave sleep), or deep sleep, increased by 13 percent. In the other group of rats researchers discovered that food deprivation negated the effects of leptin on sleep quality.

Bottom Line

Research shows that leptin levels within the body can affect the type and amount of sleep one can get, but at the same time, it shows that it can be sleep itself that causes a change in leptin production. The consensus of the research available is that leptin production is directly linked to obesity, and the more leptin a body produces and the more balanced the diet, the less plagued it is by weight-related issues, which can commonly affect sleep behavior. The better the diet, the better the sleep.

Source:

Sleep More, Eat Less

The Effects of Leptin on REM Sleep and Slow Wave Delta In Rats Are Reversed By Food Deprivation

Influence of Treatment on Leptin Levels in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea