By Gregory Brown, MD/PhD candidate
If you’re like me, you might try and exercise before work. But for some reason my bed is always coziest when it is time to wake up. However, maybe you should tap that almighty snooze button and catch a few more minutes of shut-eye Lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain through changes to hormones, decision making, and overall health.
In today’s society, there are constant pressures to limit sleep and increase productivity. But in terms of your weight and health, sleep is crucial
Sleep deprivation can cause hormonal changes that make you eat more
Population studies have linked lack of sleep and obesity. Lack of sleep can cause changes to intrinsic drives. This leads to increased cravings for food, and the brain derives more joy from food when sleep deprived. A cookie actually tastes better when you are tired.
One study in sleep-deprived subjects showed ghrelin, a hormone that makes you feel hungry, is increased, while leptin, a hormone that makes you feel full, is decreased.
This can be remembered because ghrelin gets your stomach ghrowlin’.
This helps explain why tired people eat more food. The hormone that makes people feel hungry is higher, and they have less of a feeling of fullness, due to decreased leptin.
Sleep-deprived subjects also self-report a higher desire for high-calorie foods. Lack of sleep can make you subconsciously crave high-calorie foods. This increases the amount of willpower needed to fight off these cravings.
When you are tired, your brain tells your body it needs more energy. This leads to cravings for calorie rich foods and sugars to provides quick boosts of energy. But this is a false energy and a crash will follow.
Lack of sleep hinders your ability to make healthy choices
Food is both a necessity and a pleasure. The act of deciding what to eat is complex. The decision is not purely based on a physiological need for nutrients. Sleep-deprivation impairs decision making, which may impair the ability to override cravings.
Sleep-deprivation can impair the ability to appropriately attribute value to food. This makes it more difficult to make healthy choices. Studies have shown sleep-deprived subjects self-reported that they were not hungrier in sleep deprived state. Yet, they made the decision for higher calorie foods. Subconscious decision-making when tired can lead to increased caloric intake and weight gain. Lack of sleep has also been shown to reduce the response to emotional stimuli, such as happy or sad faces. People may increase food intake to “feel something.”
Sleep deprivation can also influence other health behaviors that may lead to weight gain. Exhaustion makes people less likely to exercise, a key component in maintaining a healthy weight. Sleep disturbance has also been related to psychological and emotion regulation. A lack of emotional regulation induced by sleep could alter perceived self-worth. This lack of self-worth could result in a disinterest in healthy behaviors. Sleep is important for many components of your health, including maintaining a healthy weight. So now I won’t feel so bad when I hit the snooze button instead of the gym.