Finals are making me sleep less and more hungry-HELP

Hi all,

I have a mind numbing final upon me and as a result I have been averaging 2.5 hours of sleep a night. Yes, I know this is unhealthy, but I have no choice, pre-calc is kicking my a$$.

Anyhow, I've been sleeping less and for some reason I'm hungrier. I'm still working out but is this normal? I'm attempting to ward cravings and eat healthy when I give into them (check my log, OCGirl949, it's public) but it weirds me out that I'm so hungry. Why is this? Anyone else have the same problem? Any study tips/advice on staying full?

Note: I know it is not healthy to get 2.5 hours of sleep. Only two more days. Please don't lecture me :) Thank you.

Tue. Jul 10, 12:33pm

well if it's just for a couple of days, why worry about why? just eat if you're hungry (but healthy snacks, like you said) and keep yourself focused on your math. you may never uncover the reason(s) that you are having cravings right now, so don't stress about it while you're studying. you can get back on track in a couple of days.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007, 12:37 PM

Being over-tired makes you hungry!

Try to focus on getting enough lean protein, preferably in small meals every 2-3 hours. And get some sleep when the final is over. Good luck! A short article below, also a link to other study info.

Sleep Deprivation Tied to Shifts in Hunger Hormones
By Sarah Graham

Not getting enough shut-eye could be interfering with your ability to shed unwanted pounds. Previous research has shown that sleep could be a key regulator of body weight and metabolism. New findings link changes in two important appetite-regulating hormones to the amount of sleep people regularly get.

Shahrad Taheri, now at the University of Bristol, and colleagues analyzed data collected on 1,024 volunteers as part of the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study. Starting in 1989, the subjects filled out questionnaires and kept diaries that logged their sleep habits. In addition, once every four years they had their blood sampled and underwent tests that measured physiological variables while they slept. The researchers report today in the journal Public Library of Science: Medicine that people who consistently slept less than five fours a night had significant differences in the hormones leptin and ghrelin as compared with people who slept an average of eight hours a night. Leptin is produced by fat cells. Low levels of it are a signal of starvation and a need for a bigger appetite. Ghrelin, meanwhile, is produced by the stomach and is an appetite stimulant--the more ghrelin you have, the more you want to eat. The study subjects suffering a lack of sleep had 16 percent less leptin and nearly 15 percent more ghrelin than those who were well rested did. "In Western societies, where chronic sleep restriction is common and food is widely available, changes in appetite regulatory hormones with sleep curtailment may contribute to obesity," the team reports.

Link

Tuesday, July 10, 2007, 12:44 PM

i think there is also some link between serotonin, hunger and sleep.

wicked interesting article above, by the way. i am fascinated by the marvelous workings of the body.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007, 12:49 PM

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