You may have probably heard or read somewhere that lack of sleep is likely to be tied up with obesity and today we find an interesting highlight that may sort of explain the whole issue. Ordinarily, lack of sleep may make you think you are forced to eat less with the notion that you would prefer to sleep than eat. But an experiment proved otherwise.

Apparently the trick was done using some photos of food on 12 normally weighted men. They did not sleep and after some scans showed a high level of activity that is associated with hunger. They were reportedly hungrier even without sleep compared to the ones who got some nap.

The heightened desire to eat is what the scientists call “Hedonic Stimulus Processing”. So if you want some good advice, try to get some sleep and forget that notion of sleeping over eating when needed. It may make a difference in calories, especially if you are trying to lose weight.

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There seems to be a lot of stuff tied up with sleep, things that occur without one even recalling it. There are some who sleepwalk, some who talk in their sleep and of course some who may even wet their bed. But have you heard about having sex while asleep and waking up without having a clue on the whole ordeal?

Well it seems this thing has been happening. Called Sexsomnia, this is said to be a form of parasomnia discovered in the 90s. Sexsomnia is said to be something that would occur after a few hours when a person is already in a deep state of slumber.

Apparently, the reason behind the failure of people to recall it is because the cortex that judges and makes decisions is switched off. But the back of the brain where we feel basic urges like hunger or arousal still works – as per London professor Matthew Walker.

So how do you avoid it? Here is Prof. Walker’s advice:

No noise or light in the bedroom, no caffeine after 4pm, no alcohol before bed and try to get enough sleep. Try therapy or antidepressants if stress is a factor.

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This odd clock was handmade using clay and acrylic paint. The clock is coated in clear glaze for protecting the design and it runs on just 1 AA battery.

For the design, the clock is covered with strawberry glaze and rainbow sprinkles. A scoop of rich chocolate fudge ice cream, whipped cream with chocolate glaze sauce and star candies are at the top, making this clock a great device to stir up some hunger before you proceed with your daily chores.

The Sweets Deco Donut Alarm Clock is available for purchase over at Etsy for just $24.00.

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Add another delicious addition to your bed or sofa with this neatly designed Ice Cream Sandwich Desert Pillow. Perfect for the people who have a nagging sweet tooth, just remember that this pillow is something to help you gain some rest and not to satisfy your stomach.

The pillow is huggable but can really throw you off as far as satisfying your hunger cravings. Available from Fred Flare, the Ice Cream Sandwich Desert Pillow can be yours for $30. No refrigeration needed!

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Sleep deprivation is obviously a health issue and while many feel that they feel floating due to the lack of shuteye, it does have a say on your appetite and eventual road to obesity if you are not careful. This was of course learned thanks to a study from the Columbia University’s New York Obesity Research Center.

Hunger has been identified as an effect of sleep deprivation together with potential consumption of additional calories. Actually, it only solidifies the claim that obesity does have some connections with the sleep problem, leading to a potential causative effect.

Women in the study who slept for only four hours ate an average of 329 more calories than when they were allotted nine hours. Men consumed 263 more. The study consisted of 13 male and 13 female volunteers between the ages of 30 and 45. They followed a strict schedule for two 6-day stints, one allowing the longer sleep times and one keeping them slightly sleep-deprived.

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If you have tried all efforts to slim down, then perhaps sleep is the answer to losing some excess pounds. Weird as it may seem, a study was able to prove this and overall showed that a good night’s sleep is your ticket to a better body and better life.

During the study, adults were asked to sleep for 8.5 and 5.5 hours. The researchers measured loss of fat and lean body mass and found that those people who slept 8.5 hours per night lost 56 per cent more body fat than those who slept only 5.5 hours.

People with shorter sleep lost almost twice muscle mass. So if you are relying on what it says whenyou tip the scales, muscle weighs more than fat hence possibly damaging previous weight loss attempts.

The researchers found that lack of sleep caused an increase in a hormone called ghrelin in the blood. Ghrelin reduces energy expenditure, stimulates hunger, promotes retention of fat, and increases glucose production in the body.

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Sleep deprivation is something obviously hurting people nowadays and it seems that these findings by the National Sleep Foundation may open more eyes than usual. From an average sleeping time of 9 hours, Americans are sleeping just 6.9 hours per night.

This represents a two hour drop per night since the 19th century, one hour per night over the past 50 years, and about 15 to 25 minutes per night just since 2001. A number of health factors can result from this, including heart problems, obesity and high blood pressures.

The good news is that these effects can be reversed by getting an adequate amount of sleep. The University of Chicago study on sleep duration and appetite found that allowing the study subjects to sleep 10 hours for two consecutive nights returned the hormones to normal levels and lowered hunger and appetite ratings by almost 25%.

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While studies are reliable, it seems like this is similar to sleeping more even if it means craving for something in your stomach. Would that be good or bad? The reason for this is would foregoing sleep in times of hunger possibly lead to other health problems like ulcers?

Losing weight is one thing but affecting the other health concerns is another. We all want to get good sleep and keep fit, but there is some doubt with regards to the reliability of this scientific finding.

(Source) Web MD

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If you know what is good for you, you may want to think twice about grabbing that midnight snack, especially if you want to sleep soundly. Apparently, we all know that the food that we digest at times of needing to satisfy that hunger when we are awake in the late evenings or early mornings may not necessarily be good for us in terms of being able to burn and digest them.

There is something more towards midnight snacks and it has been tied up with stress and disrupted sleep.

Each time they wake, they head for the kitchen to eat food high in carbohydrates, such as chocolate, cake, bread and biscuits. Night eaters may consume half their daily calorie intake after their evening meal and this frequently leads to weight gain. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found typical nocturnal eaters consumed 500 calories more than those whose sleep was undisturbed.

It appears that night eating is a result of a brain chemical imbalance — eating boosts the feel-good chemical serotonin in night eaters’ bodies, thus stimulating sleep. Adrienne Baillie-Carrigan, 44, from Fleet, Hampshire, suffers from the disorder.

(Source) The Telegraph

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Sleep deprived people produce more ghrelin, a hormone that promotes hunger and less leptin, a hormone that singals fullness. (Source: Yahoo News).

Now this more than explains why parents should push their kids to sleep early. These are the internal body factors that people do not understand nor see. They operate to make up for lost rest, and the adjustment stage is known to affect the body.

Before we do not know for sure what exactly in our bodies are being affected. With this affirmation coming from the University of Michigan, people will perhaps now be more cautious of the altering effects that may effect kids when they least expect it.

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