Lack of sleep leads to junk food craving

If one doesn’t sleep well, they could fall prey to a pressuring urge to gorge on junk food, says a new research. This new study sheds light on the link between poor sleep and obesity. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, examined the brain regions that control food choices and found that inadequate sleep makes one crave junk food.

"What we discovered is that high-level brain regions required for complex judgments and decisions become blunted by lack of sleep, while more primal brain structures that control motivation and desire are amplified," said Matthew Walker, a UC Berkeley professor of psychology and neuroscience and senior author of the study published Aug 6 in the journal Nature Communications.

Moreover, he added: "High-calorie foods also became significantly more desirable when participants are sleep-deprived. This combination of altered brain activity and decision-making may help explain why people who sleep less also tend to be overweight or obese."