junk.JPG

New research published in the journal Obesity states that just losing one night of sleep can make you end up binging on high calorie food.

For the study, researchers kept 14 normal-weight people away overnight. They then gave them some breakfast and $50 to go grocery shopping. Half of the foods they could choose from were low-calorie, and half were high-calorie.  The participants ended up buying more food and calories than they did if they weren't sleep deprived.

The researchers theorized that this might have to do with how sleep results in higher levels of ghrelin in the blood, a hormone that makes you feel hungry and want to eat. Loss of sleep also decreases your self-control and decision-making abilities, causing our brains to crave fattier foods as they will provide a quick burst of energy.

So if you want to stop sabotaging your diet, make sure to keep up a normal sleep schedule and get eight full hours a night.