Feeling hungrier than usual? Your sleep schedule could be the culprit, an expert says If you’ve been feeling hungrier than usual, it could be due to your sleeping habits.
Human hunger is tied to circadian rhythm, according to experts, which means not sleeping enough can cause a greater appetite.
Dr. Christopher Rhodes, a nutritional biologist in California, explained in a conversation with Fox News Digital that a body deprived of sleep "seeks out energy by way of food."
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"Sleep and eating are intimately linked due to their shared involvement in both metabolic signaling and your body’s circadian rhythms," he said.
"Just as we train our body on when to expect sleep, we also train it on when to expect food based on our typical mealtimes and dietary patterns throughout the day, which becomes part of our daily circadian cycles."
READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP Human hunger is tied to circadian rhythm, according to experts, which means not sleeping enough can cause a greater appetite. Poor sleep disrupts hormonal signaling — particularly cortisol, which impacts "metabolic rate and the crucial hormones leptin and ghrelin," according to Rhodes.
These hormones are responsible for controlling hunger and the use of energy, he noted.
Extreme disruptions in circadian rhythm — like insomnia or "all-nighters" — can cause a "ripple effect" throughout the body, according to Rhodes."[This] can throw our natural rhythms out of whack and cause issues with our biological signaling, changes in hormone levels, chemical signaling and neuronal function," he said."In turn, these imbalances can cause excess hunger and cravings as our body, deprived of the energizing effects of sleep, seeks to compensate by taking in more energy from food," Staying up late at night can throw off the body’s natural rhythm, according to experts. Low-quality sleep can also contribute to poor cognition and reduced brain function, which reduces impulse control, the expert noted.When these effects are combined with added cravings, and as the body "desperately seek[s] ways to fuel itself," that can lead to excess food consumption, Rhodes warned.While it […]
Feeling hungrier than usual? Your sleep schedule could be the culprit, an expert says
