Less Sleep, More Hunger?
Recently, I was reading the back of a Special K® Protein cereal box and saw a statement that lack of sleep can increase the feeling of hunger by 25 percent. Since I’m in a profession that is science based, I did some research on the National Library of Medicine website to verify this. I didn’t find the study that supported detailed that 25 percent increase in hunger when you don’t sleep enough. However, there were several areas where researchers are linking poor sleep and weight gain.
If you are tired, you usually don’t feel like exercising. You move less, so you burn fewer calories. Being tired makes you more likely to choose a food like cake instead of salad. There were a couple of studies that did find an increase in ghrelin after poor sleep. Ghrelin is the gut hormone that makes you hungry.
Sounds like the perfect storm for weight gain, right? You produce less ghrelin after surgery, which leads to less food intake. Part of weight loss after surgery is that you produce less ghrelin, which leads to less food intake. If eating more healthfully is a challenge for you, it may be that you need to start with better sleeping habits.
By the way, that Special K protein cereal is a great add-in to light Greek yogurt. This is a great snack before surgery and about two months after surgery. Happy Zzzz’s!
Rene Norman, RD/LD
René Norman, RD/LD is a registered and licensed dietitian. René has provided medical nutrition therapy for cardiovascular, diabetes, obesity, celiac disease, wellness and disease prevention in a variety of settings. While working in a private practice, René enjoyed counseling individuals and families and delivering presentations to schools, community groups and corporations. Guided by evidence based practices, emerging research, non-diet approaches to weight management and nearly a decade of experience with bariatric patients, René works with bariatric patients to educate them about nutrition before and after surgery.
Rene’ graduated from the University of Tulsa and completed her dietitian internship through Oklahoma State University. Rene’ is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Oklahoma Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and has served in leadership positions in local and state dietetics associations.
If there is one thing I can be thankful for it's that I've never been a nighttime eater. I'm in bed usually by 8pm and up by 3am, so I get a pretty good nights sleep. It's just my natural rhythm.
I can't imagine how much bigger I would be if I was a night owl. Because right now, as a pre op if I'm awake, I'm pretty much always hungry.
Rene,
Thanks for bring attention to this important topic! As you found, the links between sleep and weight control are pretty definitive. There is the effect of sleep deprivation raising ghrelin (hunger hormone) levels, and it also interferes with related hormones like leptin.
And it’s not just hormonal! Research studies have shown people make bad choices when they’re sleep deprived. They’re more likely to crave sugary and starchy foods – and give in to these carb cravings. And they’re more likely to take larger portion sizes when they’re sleep deprived.
The effects aren’t just limited to hunger. Lack of sleep also raises your risk for diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease – some of the very diseases we’re trying to fight with weight loss surgery!
So it’s definitely time to think of adequate sleep as part of an overall healthy post-op life. It takes discipline to get enough sleep, but if you’re going to go through the trouble of weight loss surgery and changing your entire lifestyle to get healthy, it makes a lot of sense to get enough sleep, too.
Inner Surfer Girl 12,015
Posted
I agree. We are chronically sleep deprived as a society and it's a serious health and social problem.
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