Lack of sleep causes ‘munchies-like’ binge eating

Lack of sleep can make tempting snacks irresistible due to an effect scientists compare with the “marijuana munchies”.

Sleep-deprived study volunteers who had already eaten had an uncontrollable urge to consume “highly palatable” snacks such as biscuits, sweets, and crisps.

Lead researcher Dr Erin Hanlon, from the University of Chicago, said: “We found that sleep restriction boosts a signal that may increase the hedonic aspect of food intake, the pleasure and satisfaction gained from eating.”

The response involved raised levels of a cannabis-like brain chemical called 2-AG whose influence is normally suppressed overnight.

Higher levels of 2-AG were accompanied by self-reported hunger and a stronger desire to eat.

When the participants were given access to snacks, they ate nearly twice as much fat as they did after sleeping normally, the scientists wrote in the journal Sleep.

Smoking cannabis is known to trigger a similar appetite boost known as “the munchies”.

Dr Hanlon added: “The energy costs of staying awake a few extra hours seem to be modest.

"One study has reported that each added hour of wakefulness uses about 17 extra calories.

"That adds up to about 70 calories for the four hours of lost sleep. But, given the opportunity, the subjects in this study more than made up for it by binging on snacks, taking in more than 300 extra calories.

“Over time, that can cause significant weight gain.”

After the fourth night of restricted sleep, the participants were offered an array of snack foods.

Despite having eaten a large meal less than two hours earlier, they had trouble keeping away from the snacks, choosing those with the highest calories.