When you are sleep-deprived, appetite hormones are thrown off, and it can make you eat more the next day.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — If you’re not getting enough sleep, it might impact you in more ways than you’d expect.
Not only does inadequate sleep make you groggy, but it can also make you hungry.
THE QUESTION
Can lack of sleep make you eat more?
THE ANSWER
Yes, lack of sleep can make you eat more.
OUR SOURCES
WHAT WE FOUND
Both doctors say that when you are sleep-deprived, appetite hormones are thrown off, and it can make you eat more the next day.
“When we don’t get enough sleep, it triggers a stress response in our body, and what it does is it turns the volume up on our hunger,” Kohli said. “So we tend to eat more and we tend to eat more unhealthy foods because our body needs that instant sugar to turn up that energy.”
A study published in the National Library of Medicine examined people who got a good night’s rest compared to people who were sleep-deprived. Researchers found the tired people were also hungrier than their well-rested peers.
And before you grab that afternoon cup of coffee, Foldvary said caffeine might not be the best fix.
“It can linger in the central nervous system far beyond what you might expect, so some of us are really sensitive to that and really can’t have caffeine beyond early morning,” Foldvary explained.
The good news, as long as you get some rest, your body will reset.
“Once you reset your sleep, these hormones go back to normal, so you can reverse this process in your body,” Kohli said.
Contact Meghan Bragg at mbragg@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
