At the sleep laboratory in Uppsala, the participants were kept awake for a whole night.
Blood samples taken in the morning showed that the metabolism was disturbed.
The hormone Leptin, which gives us feelings of satiety, decreased and at the same time the hormone Ghrelin, which makes us want to eat, increased.
- It can stimulate us to eat more after a lack of sleep, than if we sleep well, says Lieve van Egmond, PhD student at the Department of Surgical Sciences at Uppsala University.
The judgment is also disturbed
Previous research has shown that judgment is also disturbed and we eat both more and worse if we sleep too little.
- We don't know when more food will arrive, so anything that is more energy-rich sounds great because you also need more energy if you've been up all night, says Lieve van Egmond.
How do you know if you've slept well?
- The best thing is to ask yourself when you wake up if you feel alert and rested - before you drink coffee.
In the video, you will learn more about the connection between lack of sleep and obesity.