A new study says that sleep deprivation leads to junk food cravings. Researchers found that people with lack of sleep have increased appetite to unhealthy foods.
Erin Hanlon, the study author and research associate at the University of Chicago, sees the connection between sleep deprivation and obesity as Centers for Disease Control stated that one-third of adults in the country are sleep-deprived and almost the same percentage is obese, as reported by CNN.
"Evidence from laboratory and epidemiological studies has started to consistently associate insufficient sleep with an increased risk of obesity," she said.
During the study, Hanlon compared 14 healthy young adults who had four nights of enough sleep (8.5 hours) and others who had restricted sleep (4.5 hours). They were given healthy meals each day but on the final day, they were given unhealthy snacks after the healthy meal. The group who are sleep-deprived chooses to eat unhealthy snacks with more carbohydrates and almost twice as much protein and fat.
The research suggested that lack of sleep affects the level of endocannabinoids, chemicals found in the brain that are involved in regulating appetite that reacts to same receptors as marijuana.
Hanlon's study has limitation due to its small size, short duration and limited sampling frequency. However, it clearly shows the significance and the consistency of the epidemiologic evidence, which are "relevant to normal life conditions," Eureka Alert reported.
Hanlon explained that if a person has enough sleep, that person can control his natural response towards food. On the other hand, those who are sleep-deprived get a stronger hedonic drive for certain food and the ability to resist may be impaired. They more likely to eat these tasty and unhealthy snacks, repeat it, and gain weight.
Hanlon noted that sleep deprivation has been causing negative outcomes and the study she did is just a step in understanding how getting enough sleep improves our health. "We are trying to get out awareness that people need to think of adequate sleep as an important aspect of maintaining good health," she said.
