Sunday, December 2, 2012

Over my head

Sleep Duration Affects Hunger Differently in Men and Women
The study, appearing in the November issue of the journal Sleep, tracked the sleep duration, glucose dysregulation, and hormonal regulation of appetite in 27 normal weight, 30- to 45-year-old men and women. Participants provided fasting blood draws, and they were studied under two sleep conditions: Short (4 hours) or habitual (9 hours). Short sleep increased total ghrelin levels in men but not women and reduced GLP-1 levels in women but not in men, a sex difference that has not been reported before. The results suggest that the common susceptibility to overeat during short sleep is related to increased appetite in men and reduced feelings of fullness in women.
Not sure exactly what this means, but there seem to be significant metabolic differences between male and female narcoleptics.   Maybe one of you biochemists can understand it.