When We Get Less Sleep, We Want More Fat
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iStock/Thinkstock(PHILADELPHIA) — Appetites for fatty foods are more pronounced when people are sleep-deprived, according to a new study out of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Lead author and researcher Hengyi Rao’s study says their discovery has special significance for those who work irregular schedules such as night and rotating shifts.
While weight gain has previously been linked to poor sleep habits in other studies, the Penn School of Medicine findings are the first to say that the brain craves more fat than carbs.
During experiments, people in the sleep-deprived group consumed 1,000 calories while staying awake overnight and ate the same amount in the day following sleep deprivation.
Generally, fatty foods were preferred over those with carbs.
Rao and his team postulated that sleep deprivation affects the cravings for certain foods, particularly those with a high fat content. This enabled them to also zero in on a portion of the brain called the salience network that feeds our desire for fat.
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