Sleep disturbances in eating disorders: a review.

Psychiatric disorders are frequently associated with disturbances of sleep and circadian rhythms. This review focus on the relationship between sleep disturbances and eating disorders. In the first part are discussed the presence of sleep disorders among patients suffering from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, the macrostructure and microstructure of theirs sleep, the differences between the various subtypes in ED patients, the dreams of eating disordered patients and their recurrent contents. In the second part, there are treated sleep disturbances in binge eating disorder and other eating disorders not otherwise specified, such as nocturnal (night) eating syndrome and sleep-related eating disorder. In the third part, there are presented data concerning the neurobiological and neuroendocrinological correlates between feeding, metabolism, weight restoration and the processes regulating sleep. In conclusion, possible future investigations are proposed.