When you don't get your sleep, your body’s hormonal balance is disturbed. This has been proven once again by a team lead by Eve Van Cauter, a medicine professior at University of Chicago.
Their study proved that circulating levels of leptin, a hormone that signals energy balance to the brain, and ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger, are influenced by sleep duration. The first hormone tells your body that the brain does not require more food, while the second increases hunger.
The volunteers in the experiment slept only 4 hours for 2 nights. Their leptin levels decreased by 18%, while the ghrelin levels increased by 28%. During the day, these volunteers preferred sweet food and products rich in starch, vegetables, fruits and diary.
The research team suggests that the brain, disturbed by lack of sleep, looks for simple carbohydrates to feed on.
Previous research showed that in general people who sleep less are heavier. Researchers do not exclude the possibility that this is due to changes in food addictions and the propensity to overeat which can appear as a result of lack of sleep, says BBC.
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