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Review
. 2015 Nov;8(3):143-52.
doi: 10.1016/j.slsci.2015.09.002. Epub 2015 Sep 28.

Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism: From physiological to pathological conditions

Camila Hirotsu  1 , Sergio Tufik  1 , Monica Levy Andersen  1
Affiliations
Review

Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism: From physiological to pathological conditions

Camila Hirotsu et al. Sleep Sci. 2015 Nov.

Abstract

Poor sleep quality due to sleep disorders and sleep loss is highly prevalent in the modern society. Underlying mechanisms show that stress is involved in the relationship between sleep and metabolism through hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activation. Sleep deprivation and sleep disorders are associated with maladaptive changes in the HPA axis, leading to neuroendocrine dysregulation. Excess of glucocorticoids increase glucose and insulin and decrease adiponectin levels. Thus, this review provides overall view of the relationship between sleep, stress, and metabolism from basic physiology to pathological conditions, highlighting effective treatments for metabolic disturbances.

Keywords: Cortisol; Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis; Metabolism; Obesity; Sleep; Stress.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
24-h individual cortisol profile showing the minimum (nadir), the maximum (acrophase), the onset of the circadian rise, and the amplitude of the cortisol profile. After a nadir during the early night, there is an important rise in ACTH and cortisol in the late night, reaching a peak near the awakening time, driven by circadian oscillators, such as sleep.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Schematic of the main interactions between sleep, stress and metabolism. Sleep disorders which can lead to sleep loss share common pathways with stress system via HPA axis activation on the metabolic dysfunction, contributing to increased risk of developing obesity and diabetes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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