After they had not slept, a study's participants showed a much stronger preference for high-calorie foods.
August 6/Berkeley, Calif./UC Berkeley -- Science has been pretty strong on connecting sleep deprivation to weight gain. Now a new study from UC Berkeley shows one reason might lie in the brain and how it is affected by sleep deprivation.
While the study was small -- 23 people -- it is intriguing. The recruits were monitored for two individual nights, a week apart. On one night, they got a normal night’s sleep (8.2 hours on average). On the other night, they were not allowed to sleep at all. After they had not slept, the study participants showed a much stronger preference for high-calorie foods, such as pizza and doughnuts, over more healthful choices like strawberries and carrots.