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Several possible studies

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How Many Calories Can You Burn While Sleeping? Probably More Than You Think. (opens in a new tab)

menshealth.com · 2026-09-11

Short answerEvidenceSource

Short answer

Several possible studies

No clear answer.

More than one paper fits the article's details, and none fits well enough to single out. Checking claims against the wrong study would be worse than not checking them at all.

Checked against the study summary. The full text wasn't available, so some details couldn't be settled either way.

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NewsLink checks it

Several studies could be the source of this story.

More than one paper fits the article's details, and none fits well enough to single out. Checking claims against the wrong study would be worse than not checking them at all.

Open claim evidence
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Search result

Several studies could fit.

More than one paper fits the article's details, and none fits well enough to single out. Checking claims against the wrong study would be worse than not checking them at all.

Source paper

Source layer

The 2 papers the story cites

Source study separated from background citations.

The research anchor for the report.

Related research

Research nearby

The papers it could be

Nearby papers when the source is unclear.

and 14 more considered

Then inspect each claim

Evidence layer

Claim by claim

What the story asserts. With no source study, there is nothing to check these against.

Claim 1 of 6Not checkedWhile asleep, you burn around 40 to 55 calories per hour, so seven hours of sleep can amount to about 280 to 385 calories burned.View evidenceHide evidence

As stated40 to 55 calories per hour; 280 to 385 calories over seven hours

Not checked

NewsLink could not identify one source study, so this claim was not compared against a paper.

Claim 2 of 6Not checkedThe human body is always burning calories, even at rest, because it uses energy for essential functions like breathing and digestion.View evidenceHide evidence

Not checked

NewsLink could not identify one source study, so this claim was not compared against a paper.

Claim 3 of 6Not checkedAnything that increases basal metabolic rate, such as having more muscle mass, also increases the number of calories burned while sleeping.View evidenceHide evidence

Not checked

NewsLink could not identify one source study, so this claim was not compared against a paper.

Claim 4 of 6Not checkedGetting at least seven hours of sleep a night and good-quality sleep will improve the number of calories you consistently burn overnight.View evidenceHide evidence

As statedat least seven hours of sleep

Not checked

NewsLink could not identify one source study, so this claim was not compared against a paper.

Claim 5 of 6Not checkedSleep affects weight beyond nighttime calorie burn by influencing hunger hormones, metabolism, appetite, food choice, and weight-regulating hormones such as insulin, glucose, cortisol, and thyroid hormones.View evidenceHide evidence

Not checked

NewsLink could not identify one source study, so this claim was not compared against a paper.

Claim 6 of 6Not checkedSleep disruption, including sleep apnea, can negatively affect metabolism; some people with sleep apnea may technically burn more calories while asleep because breathing takes more effort, but the article says the effect is negligible.View evidenceHide evidence

As statedtechnically burn more calories while asleep; extra calorie burn gets negligible

Not checked

NewsLink could not identify one source study, so this claim was not compared against a paper.

Finally, the search trail

Method layer

No single source study was found.

NewsLink still surfaces nearby research so you can inspect the field instead of a single paper.

Nearby research

No exact source, but these papers are close.

PubMed, Europe PMC, Crossref · 15 candidate papers

And 10 more candidates considered.