Research
Hormonal
Circadian misalignment causes dysregulation of appetite-regulating hormones (specifically decreased leptin) and impaired glucose metabolism, independent of sleep duration.
Staying up late or working night shifts disrupts your body's natural hormone rhythms, leading to lower levels of the 'fullness' hormone (leptin) and higher blood sugar responses to food. This happens even if you sleep the same amount as someone with a regular schedule.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
These studies have also demonstrated that circadian misalignment causes disruptions in appetite-regulating hormones, glucose metabolism and mood... Results from a later study also demonstrated decreased leptin and higher glucose response to meals despite higher insulin production associated with this misalignment.
Why this rating
Supported by controlled laboratory experiments (forced desynchrony protocols) which isolate circadian effects from sleep loss.
Source
Circadian misalignment and health
Kelly Glazer Baron et al. · International Review of Psychiatry · 2014
DOI 10.3109/09540261.2014.911149
narrative_reviewCited 617×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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