The less we sleep, the more food we buy

A study published in the journal Obesity analyzed whether lack of sleep affects our purchases. The study was based on the hypothesis that lack of sleep can dull high-level thinking and increase hunger.

"We used total sleep deprivation (TSD) to investigate the relationship between sleep quality and food shopping habits," the study authors say. and other professions whose members must work at night."

In their study, the researchers involved 14 men with normal weight. At baseline, all participants had normal sleep-wake rhythms.
Study subjects were asked to spend one night of normal sleep and one night of total sleep deprivation.

The morning after both events, the men were given a fixed amount of $50 to buy food at the supermarket.

Study participants were asked to buy as much as they could from a list of 40 food items. The list consisted of 20 high-calorie and 20 low-calorie foods. Before the task, all men were fed a standard breakfast to limit the effect of hunger on their purchases.

The study showed that after a night of sleep deprivation, men bought meals with 9% more calories and 18% more food overall than after a night of normal sleep.
The participants' blood was also tested after both nights . The results showed that levels of the hunger-boosting hormone, ghrelin, were much higher after sleep deprivation.

Colin Chapman, first author of the study from the University of Uppsala in Sweden, said: "We hypothetically suggest that the effect of sleep deprivation on hunger and decision-making could be an explosive mix between shopping and food purchases, as it makes people hungrier and less capable. control self and high-level decision-making processes that prevent a person from making impulsive purchases of high-calorie foods." "Our discovery provides the rationale that patients who have problems with calorie intake and weight gain should adhere to a healthy and normal sleep schedule."

Researchers say more research is needed to confirm this pattern in peoples who are prone to obesity.

"In addition, future research will determine whether sleep quality affects purchases other than food, including high-value items, where shoppers may fall prey to disrupted decision-making."

Last year, a University of California study suggested that sleep deprivation could lead to unhealthy food choices by affecting frontal lobe activity – the most important area of ​​the brain responsible for food selection.

Source estet-portal.com