New research suggests that people who eat less late at night may have an easier time recovering from sleep deprivation.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that eating less during late night hours helps curb the concentration and alertness deficits that usually accompany sleep deprivation.

"Adults consume approximately 500 additional calories during late-night hours when they are sleep restricted," David F. Dinges, senior author of the study, said in a statement. "Our research found that refraining from late-night calories helps prevent some of the decline those individuals may otherwise experience in neurobehavioral performance during sleep restriction."

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from 44 subjects between the ages of 21 and 50. They were given unlimited access to food and drink during the day, followed by only four hours of sleep each night for three nights. On the fourth night, 20 participants received continued access to food and drinks, while the 24 others were allowed only to consume water from 10:00 p.m. until they went to sleep at 4 a.m.

At 2 a.m. each night, all subjects completed a variety of tests to measure their working memory, cognitive skills, sleepiness, stress level and mood.

They found that subjects who fasted performed better on reaction time and attention lapses than subjects who had eaten during those late-night hours. In addition, subjects who ate showed significantly slower reaction times and more attention lapses on the fourth night of sleep restriction compared to the first three nights whereas study subjects who had fasted did not show this performance decline.

"Short sleep duration is a significant risk factor for weight gain and obesity, particularly in African Americans and men," Namni Goel, senior author of the study, said in a statement. "This research suggests that reducing the number of calories consumed can help prevent that weight gain and some of the health issues associated with obesity in Caucasians and particularly in African Americans."

The findings will be presented at SLEEP 2015, the 29th annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC.