Time-restricted eating improves appetite regulation and sleep characteristics in adults with poor sleep quality

Annette Beaumont; Rut Farías; Wladimir Fernandez; Catalina Lizama; Joselyn González; Alejandro Villar; Krista A Varady; Patricio Peirano; Rodrigo Chamorro

doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2025.04.028

Time-restricted eating improves appetite regulation and sleep characteristics in adults with poor sleep quality

Clin Nutr. 2025 Jul:50:66-74. doi: 10.1016/j.clnu.2025.04.028. Epub 2025 May 2.

Authors

Annette Beaumont¹, Rut Farías¹, Wladimir Fernandez², Catalina Lizama², Joselyn González², Alejandro Villar², Krista A Varady³, Patricio Peirano⁴, Rodrigo Chamorro⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
² School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
³ Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
⁴ Sleep Laboratory, Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
⁵ Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile. Electronic address: rchamorro@uchile.cl.

PMID: 40373727
DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2025.04.028

Abstract

Background & aims: Time-restricted eating (TRE), a type of intermittent fasting (IF), appears to improve metabolic health in adults but shows inconsistent effects on appetite and sleep regulation, with less data on adults with poor sleep. Our study evaluated the impact of TRE on appetite and nighttime sleep in individuals with normal-weight and inadequate sleep.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial involved 30 young (age: 25.7 ± 5.6 years; 21F), normal-weight (body mass index (BMI): 23.0 ± 1.8 kg/m²) adults with poor sleep (<7 h/night or poor quality). Participants were randomized to two groups for 8 weeks: i) control group (CON), maintaining usual eating habits (CON, n = 16) or ii) time-restricted eating group (TRE), following a self-selected 10-h eating window (mandatory fasting from 23:00 to 06:00) for 8 weeks with no dietary changes (TRE, n = 14). Appetite, satiety, and craving for food were assessed using Visual Analog Scales (VAS) and the Food Craving Inventory-SP (FCI-SP), respectively. Sleep duration and quality were evaluated by using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and 7-day actigraphic recordings.

Results: The TRE group reported higher satiety and fullness feeling together with a lower capacity to eat compared to CON (p < 0.038), while overall craving scores showed no between-group differences (p = 0.381). Sleep duration did not differ between groups, whereas several sleep characteristics improved. After TRE intervention, actigraphic assessments revealed an earlier sleep onset and later wake-up time (both p < 0.001) and fewer movements during sleep (p < 0.025).

Conclusion: An 8-week, 10-h TRE protocol positively affects appetite regulation and sleep characteristics in normal-weight young adults with insufficient or poor sleep. TRE appears promising for addressing appetite regulation and sleep disturbances in this group.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06485037).

Keywords: Food-craving; Hunger; Intermittent fasting; Sleep; Time-restricted eating.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Adult
Appetite / physiology
Appetite Regulation* / physiology
Body Mass Index
Craving
Fasting* / physiology
Feeding Behavior / physiology
Female
Humans
Male
Satiation
Sleep Quality*
Sleep* / physiology
Time Factors
Young Adult

Associated data

ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT06485037