Effects of Sleep Duration on Eating and Activity Behaviors

The purpose of the proposed study is to determine whether the amount children sleep is
associated with changes in hormones, hunger, motivation to eat, and food intake. Fifty
children 8-11 years old who sleep 9-10 hours per night will be enrolled for a 3-week study.
For 1 week each, children will be asked to sleep their typical amount, increase their sleep
by 1-½ hours, and decrease their sleep by 1-½ hours. Half of the children will be asked to
increase their sleep first and half to decrease their sleep first. During each week, the
following will be gathered: sleep duration (measured by actigraphy, which is a small device
that measures sleep), levels of hormones measured through blood draws, self-reported hunger
and appetite, food intake (measured by 3 days of 24-hour recall), how motivated children are
to eat (measured using a computer activity), and child height and weight. We believe that
when children sleep less they will show changes in hormones associated with hunger and
appetite, report being hungrier, be more motivated to eat, and eat more food.