OBJECTIVE: To investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships among exercise, sleep, ghrelin and leptin. METHODS: We randomly assigned 173 post-menopausal sedentary overweight (body mass index >= 24.0 kg/m2 and > 33% body fat) women aged 50 to 75 years living in western Washington State to either a facility- and home-based moderate-intensity physical activity intervention or a stretching control group. Fasting plasma ghrelin, leptin, measured height, weight and self-reported sleep were assessed at baseline and 12 months. RESULTS: There were no consistent cross-sectional patterns between self-reported sleep measures and ghrelin or leptin at baseline. The weight loss differences between exercisers and stretchers were greater for those who slept less at follow-up than at baseline compared to those whose sleep duration did not change (-3.2 kg, 95% confidence interval (CI) -5.8 to -0.5). Improvements in sleep quality were associated with significantly greater differences between exercisers and stretchers for ghrelin increases (improved versus same sleep quality: +115 pg/ml, 95% CI +25 to +206) and leptin decreases (improved versus worsened sleep quality: -5.7 ng/ml, 95% CI -9.5 to -1.5). CONCLUSION: There was only limited evidence that changes in sleep duration or quality modified exercise-induced changes in weight, ghrelin or leptin. Moreover, the observed differences were not in the directions hypothesized. Future longitudinal studies including population-based samples using objective measures of sleep and long follow-up may help to clarify these relationships.

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