Sleep insufficiency, circadian rhythms, and metabolomics: the connection between metabolic and sleep disorders.

Changes in lipid and amino acid metabolites accompanying sleep deprivation and/or circadian rhythms may indicate cellular membrane and protein breakdown underlying the connection between sleep disturbance, hyperlipidemia, and other metabolic disorders. Larger epidemiological studies examining changes in the human metabolome in response to chronic insufficient sleep would help elucidate this relationship.