In a recent noteworthy study, Mehr et al. (2021) examine sleep dysregulation in binge eating disorder and “food addiction”: the orexin (hypocretin) system as a potential neurobiological link. It has been proposed that binge eating reflects a pathological compulsion driven by the “addictive” properties of foods. Proponents of this argument highlight the large degree of phenomenological and diagnostic overlap between binge eating disorder (BED) and substance use disorders (SUDs), including loss of control over how much is consumed and repeated unsuccessful attempts to abstain from consumption, as well as commonalities in brain structures involved in food and drug craving. To date, very little attention has been given to an additional behavioral symptom that BED shares with SUDs—sleep dysregulation—and the extent to which this may contribute to the pathophysiology of BED.
Having a binge eating disorder (BED) is associated with unhealthy sleep patterns, which may contribute to the worsening of BED symptoms.
Sleep dysregulation in binge eating disorder and “food addiction”: the orexin (hypocretin) system as a potential neurobiological link
Here, we review studies examining sleep outcomes in patients with BED, which collectively point to a heightened incidence of sleep abnormalities in BED. We identify the orexin (hypocretin) system as a potential neurobiological link between compulsive eating and sleep dysregulation in BED, and provide a comprehensive update on the evidence linking this system to these processes. Finally, drawing on evidence from the SUD literature indicating that the orexin system exhibits significant plasticity in response to drugs of abuse, we hypothesize that chronic palatable food consumption likewise increases orexin system activity, resulting in dysregulated sleep/wake patterns. Poor sleep, in turn, is predicted to exacerbate binge eating, contributing to a cycle of uncontrolled food consumption. By extension, we suggest that pharmacotherapies normalizing orexin signaling, which are currently being trialed for the treatment of SUDs, might also have utility in the clinical management of BED.
Mehr, J.B.et al. (2021). Sleep dysregulation in binge eating disorder and “food addiction”: the orexin (hypocretin) system as a potential neurobiological link.Neuropsychopharmacology, 46, 2051–2061. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-021-01052-z
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