UC Berkeley

Purpose: The aim was to investigate the relationship between sleep and desire for and intake of weight gain promoting foods at pre-treatment and following an intervention designed to improve sleep in adolescents with late bedtimes.

Methods: A sample of adolescents with late bedtimes was randomized to an intervention designed to improve sleep (TranS-C-Youth) or a control condition (Psychoeducation) and their food desire and intake in the morning was assessed at pre-treatment and post-treatment.

Results: At pre-treatment more sleep was associated with increased desire for dairy. No effects on desire for and intake of weight promoting food were observed for TranS-C-Youth compared to Psychoeducation. Adolescents with earlier bedtimes at post-treatment relative to pre-treatment ate more low Glycemic Index and dairy foods at post-treatment. This effect was not observed in those who did not improve their bedtime at pre-treatment relative to post-treatment.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that bedtime improvement can improve breakfast choices, an important meal for obesity prevention during adolescence.