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Eating a big meal after a sleepless night makes you fat

By on April 7, 2014

The result of a study made by Swedish scientists from Uppsala University published in the Psychoneuroendocrinology suggests that it might be wise to avoid a big meal the day following a sleepless night.

In the study, 16 men with normal weight stayed awake all night after an eight-hour sleep the previous night.
Participants were asked to choose portion sizes of seven different dishes plus six meals in between.

“After a night without sleep, the men chose larger portions of  energy-rich food,” says Pleuni Hogenkamp in a statement, leader of  the research team who monitored their eating behaviour. “It is also interesting to see that they did so both before and after they had eaten breakfast, suggesting that insomnia increases appetite regardless of how full they are.”

A series of studies made by the Swedish research team points to the connection of insomnia and obesity.
Another study published last year in The American Journal of Human Biology found that the appeal of fast food increases after a sleepless night triggered by the reward center in the brain.

Research published in the journal Sleep found a difference between males and females when it comes to insomnia and food intake. Men’s tendency to overeat is linked to increased hunger, while women’s is connected to reduced satiety.

About Julie Wilson