HealthMedAid

  Why You May Feel Hungrier After a Bad Night of Sleep You go to bed late, wake up earlier than usual, or spend most of the night tossing and turning. The next morning, something feels different. You may be more interested in food than usual, think about snacks throughout the day, or experience unusually strong cravings for sweets, fast food, refined carbohydrates, or other highly palatable foods. You may even feel hungry shortly after eating a normal breakfast. This raises an important question: why does lack of sleep make you feel hungrier the next day? The answer is more complicated than simply saying that poor sleep increases one hunger hormone and decreases another. Sleep affects several interconnected systems involved in appetite, food reward, stress, mood, energy expenditure, glucose regulation, and decision-making. When sleep is inadequate, these systems can shift in ways that make eating more appealing and healthy food choices more difficult. Importantly, the response...