Are you getting enough sleep?
Written By: Dr. Jan McBarren, Duke and The Doctor
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Published - Nov 30, 2011
New research reinforces just how important sleep is with regards to the foods that we choose to put in our mouths and, ultimately, our weight. In this study, they used an MRI machine to image the brain activity of study participants. The MRI allowed the researchers to see just how each of the participants’ brains reacted to images of food that they were shown.
The researchers looked at the part of the brain that is associated with inhibition. When they showed the participants images of things like hamburgers, fries, pizza, and deserts, they noted that the brains of the participants who were sleepy had decreased stimulation of the part of the brain that causes inhibition. In fact, the lead study author noted that “When you are sleepy, there’s a good chance that you won’t be able to control how much you eat”. He also added “You may be drawn to unhealthy foods because you are not putting the brakes on as well as you would be if you were well rested”.
This study adds to information about the sleep/weight issue that has been gleaned from past studies. It has been shown in several previous studies that not getting enough sleep caused your body to make more of the hormone ghrelin. This hormone tells you to eat more. Studies have also shown that not getting enough sleep causes your body to make less of a hormone called leptin. Leptin tells you to stop eating.
To summarize, not getting enough sleep lowers our inhibitions when it comes to making wise food choices and, at the same time, causes our bodies to make more of the appetite stimulating hormone and less of the appetite lowering hormone.
So, let’s get back to the question at hand. Are you getting enough sleep? If not, I hope that this article will inspire you to do so.