The Connection Between Sleep and Overeating

Another factor is at play, too. A lack of sleep kicks off a process in the body that raises the blood level of a lipid known as endocannabinoid. This acts on the brain in a similar way to marijuana, making the act of eating more enjoyable, especially in the evening. But it increases hunger for specific types of foods, such as cookies, candy, and chips. In fact, people who don’t get enough sleep eat twice as much fat and more than 300 extra calories the next day, compared with those who sleep for eight hours. Not only does a lack of sleep interfere with hunger signals, but there’s also the problem that less time in bed simply gives you more hours of the day to eat. Preventing overeating–as well as obesity–starts with creating a healthy bedtime routine. To manage your weight and how much food you consume, aim to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day of the week, and give yourself enough time in bed to get seven to nine hours of sleep.

Key Points:

  • 1Getting enough sleep won’t just invigorate you; it could also help control how much you eat.
  • 2Two hormones that help regulate hunger–ghrelin and leptin–are affected by sleep: Ghrelin stimulates appetite, while leptin decreases it.
  • 3When the body is sleep-deprived, the level of ghrelin spikes, while the level of leptin falls, leading to an increase in hunger.


Not only does a lack of sleep interfere with hunger signals, but there’s also the problem that less time in bed simply gives you more hours of the day to eat.

Read the full article at: https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/the-connection-between-sleep-and-overeating

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Medical Writer & Editor

HealthStatus has been operating since 1998 providing the best interactive health tools on the Internet, millions of visitors have used our health risk assessment, body fat and calories burned calculators. The HealthStatus editorial team has continued that commitment to excellence by providing our visitors with easy to understand high quality health content for many years.

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