Compared with participants reporting having experienced normal sleep—between seven and eight hours—those reporting short sleep engaged in secondary eating an additional 8.7 minutes a day as well as an additional 28.6 and 31.28 minutes daily of secondary drinking on weekdays and weekends, respectively, according to a recent cross-sectional study conducted by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Researchers at UAB concluded “short sleep is associated with more time spent in secondary eating and, in particular, secondary drinking. This potentially suggests a pathway from short sleep to increased caloric intake in the form of beverages and distracted eating and thus potential increased obesity risk, although more research is needed.”
