Circadian Rhythms, Sleep Patterns, and the Regulation of Cravings for Sweet and Refined-Carbohydrate Foods

Cravings for sweet and refined-carbohydrate foods are commonly reported and can contribute to excess energy intake, although terminology and measurement vary across studies. This narrative review examines how sleep duration, sleep architecture, circadian timing, and meal timing are associated with appetite, food reward, and cravings for sweet and refined-carbohydrate foods. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for English-language peer-reviewed human studies published primarily between January 2021 and August 2026, and selected foundational studies were included for historical and mechanistic context. Experimental sleep restriction has been associated with changes in appetite-regulating hormones and with heightened responses of neural reward circuits to palatable food, although hormonal responses are heterogeneous across protocols, sexes, and populations. Observational studies link shift work and social jetlag to poorer diet quality and altered eating behavior, and controlled trials indicate that late meal timing can increase hunger independent of energy content. Most of the available evidence concerns hunger, appetite, or highly palatable food intake rather than carbohydrate-specific craving, experimental samples are often small, and observational designs cannot establish causality. Overall, the evidence supports an association between circadian and sleep disruption and an increased drive toward sweet and highly palatable foods, and the proposed integrative framework linking homeostatic, reward-related, and behavioral pathways may guide future research.