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Sleep deprivation is associated with increased appetite and food intake — but why? Researchers in Europe have now explored this question, using functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain activations in response to images of low- and high-calorie food after a night of total sleep deprivation (TSD) and after 7 hours of sleep. The 12 participants (normal-weight men; mean age, 23) were used as their own controls, with sleep deprivation and normal sleep occurring in random order at least 2 weeks apart. A standardized dinner was provided before TSD or sleep; a standardized morning snack was provided before imaging.
Morning blood glucose levels were similar between the TSD and sleep conditions. However, the men reported significantly gr…