Why We Crave Junk Food After a Restless Night
- 5 years ago
Why We Crave Junk Food
After a Restless Night.
A new study conducted by Northwestern Medicine
has the answer to why we reach for unhealthy food
options following a night of sleeplessness. .
According to the study,
your nose — or olfactory
system — is at fault.
Your olfactory system is affected by
sleep deprivation in two ways:.
First, your nose goes into "hyperdrive"
in an attempt to differentiate between
food and non-food odors.
Then, there is a communication
breakdown with other areas of the
brain that handle food signals.
When you're sleep deprived, these brain areas may not be getting enough information, and you're overcompensating by choosing food with a richer energy signal. , Thorsten Kahnt, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University.
But it may also be that these other areas fail to keep tabs on the sharpened signals in the olfactory cortex. That could also lead to choosing doughnuts and
potato chips, Thorsten Kahnt, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University.
Previous research also found that sleep
deprivation can increase endocannabinoids,
which affect how the brain responds to odors.
In addition, researches found that activity in the piriform
cortex, an area of the brain that receives information
from the nose, differed between food and non-food
odors when a person was sleep deprived.
Our findings suggest that sleep deprivation makes our brain more susceptible to enticing food smells, so maybe it might be worth taking a detour to avoid your local doughnut shop next time you catch a 6 a.m. flight, Thorsten Kahnt, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University
After a Restless Night.
A new study conducted by Northwestern Medicine
has the answer to why we reach for unhealthy food
options following a night of sleeplessness. .
According to the study,
your nose — or olfactory
system — is at fault.
Your olfactory system is affected by
sleep deprivation in two ways:.
First, your nose goes into "hyperdrive"
in an attempt to differentiate between
food and non-food odors.
Then, there is a communication
breakdown with other areas of the
brain that handle food signals.
When you're sleep deprived, these brain areas may not be getting enough information, and you're overcompensating by choosing food with a richer energy signal. , Thorsten Kahnt, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University.
But it may also be that these other areas fail to keep tabs on the sharpened signals in the olfactory cortex. That could also lead to choosing doughnuts and
potato chips, Thorsten Kahnt, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University.
Previous research also found that sleep
deprivation can increase endocannabinoids,
which affect how the brain responds to odors.
In addition, researches found that activity in the piriform
cortex, an area of the brain that receives information
from the nose, differed between food and non-food
odors when a person was sleep deprived.
Our findings suggest that sleep deprivation makes our brain more susceptible to enticing food smells, so maybe it might be worth taking a detour to avoid your local doughnut shop next time you catch a 6 a.m. flight, Thorsten Kahnt, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University