A little sleep makes you fat: you eat more junk food

    Those who sleep little gain more weight. Of course, however, this is nothing new, insomnia and boredom often lead to eating junk food and bingeing on chips, chocolates and so on.

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    Those who sleep little gain more weight. Of course, however, this is nothing new, insomnia and boredom often lead to eating junk food and bingeing on chips, chocolates and so on.





    Un new American study now identify the culprit of this vicious circle, namely a chemical signal which enhances the pleasure of ingesting foods with a high fat content.

    In practice, sleeping less would turn on the endocannabinoid system, the target of the active ingredient of marijuana, increasing the desire to eat.
    During the study, the researchers analyzed the habits of 14 volunteers, all with an optimal state of health creating two different situations. For 4 days, participants slept an average of 7,5 hours per night and a further 4 days in which the hours of sleep decreased to 4,2.

    A little sleep makes you fat: you eat more junk food

    The result? As soon as they could, the volunteers gorged themselves on snacks and ingested over 300 more calories, which they certainly would not have taken if they had spent that time sleeping. So, despite the fact that they had eaten a rich meal only two hours before, they could not resist cookies, candies and chips.

    The culprit is the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), whose blood levels are typically low at night, while rising slowly during the day, peaking in the early afternoon. When study participants were sleep deprived, however, endocannabinoid levels rose faster and remained elevated throughout the evening, in addition to the typical 12.30 peaks. During this time, the volunteers scored higher for hunger and food cravings. When they were given permission to snack on, they ingested nearly twice as much fat as when they slept for over 7 hours, the study read.

    After a normal night of sleep, 2-AG levels are low in the morning and peak in the early afternoon, shortly after lunch, and then decline. After sleep deprivation, however, 2-AG reaches levels 33% higher and remains elevated over time. In this case, the volunteers were much hungrier just when the 2-AG levels were highest. After the fourth night of limited sleep, they were offered some snacks and the participants had a hard time holding back. They chose foods with 50% more calories, 'junk food' with twice the fat, compared to the normal sleep period, the study concludes.



    In conclusion, even if the study had a limited sampling, the researchers have no doubts: if you sleep little you are more likely to eat junk food by increasing the risk of obesity.


    Dominella Trunfio

    READ also:

    Insomnia: 10 reasons why you (maybe) can't sleep

    Insomnia: 10 Recipes And Remedies That Help You Sleep

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