Do You Think Like a Fat Person?
You’ve heard of beer goggles—but what about bacon shades? After just one night of missed sleep, you see food differently than you would if you got enough rest.
For a new study, men hopped in an MRI scanner on two different mornings: once after regular slumber and once after staying up all night. Sleep-deprived participants said they were hungrier and also showed more activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, part of the brain’s reward center, while ogling photos of food. (Speaking of ogling food pictures, have you checked out the Guy Gourmet blog? Drool away.)
“This brain region has been previously shown to be activated in obese people while viewing food, and has been hypothesized to affect the way we think about food,” says study author Christian Benedict, Ph.D., of Uppsala University in Sweden. His results were published in Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
More from MensHealth.com: Sleep Deprivation Makes You Fat
The findings help explain why shirking sleep over time can show up on the scale. “Sleep deprivation increases blood concentrations of ghrelin,” Benedict says. This hormone, produced by your stomach, is involved in lighting up the brain’s reward pathways when you spot a Big Mac. The more ghrelin you have, the more you crave high-calorie foods—and the more you eat.
A trimmer waistline is just one more reason to get enough rest. Adequate sleep has also been shown to boost immunity and sharpen your memory, too, Benedict says. To dream more easily, pop .3 milligrams of melatonin (if you’re in your 20s) or some vitamin B5 (if you’re older) right before you hit the sack. Get more tips on a good night’s rest at any age in the Men's Health Sleep Center.
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