An Aspect of the Biological Basis of the Mind-body Apparatus: The Relationship Between Sleep, Nutritional State and Mood in Disorders of Weight

Abstract

An observation that insomnia, especially early morning waking, is a feature of anorexia nervosa has been confirmed using patients sleep self reports and continuous all-night E.E.G. recordings. Furthermore the sleep disturbance has been shown to be more closely related to the nutritional disturbance than to the mood state. A similar association between changes in weight and sleep is also described in a patient receiving treatment for severe obesity. The possible relevance of these findings to other illnesses involving changes in weight and sleep patterns is discussed.