I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I am constantly hungry. Everywhere I look I’m reminded of food. From social media networks of “food porn”, to recipes of desserts popping up on my Facebook newsfeed and ads everywhere it gets to be a little overwhelming at times. Watching too much TV, not getting enough sleep, skipping breakfast, and eating too quickly are all reasons that we are always reaching for food.
Those who watch over two hours of TV a day are more likely to consume larger amounts of high calorie snacks. In addition to snacks, many people eat dinner in front of the TV eating unhealthy foods such as pizza and sugary drinks.
According to a study done at the University Of Chicago, “People ate 221 more calories from snack foods the day after getting 5.5 hours of sleep compared to when they snoozed for 8.5 hours.” Getting less sleep also lowers levels of leptin which is a hormone telling your body that you are full. It is important to get a minimum of eight hours of sleep a night in order for your body to feel rested and so that you’re not always starving.
According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, people who skimp on eating breakfast are 4.5 times more likely to be obese. It is suggested in this study that skipping meals slows down your metabolism, which makes you hungry and makes your body store more fat than it normally would.
Eating too quickly is another reason that people don’t feel full or are hungry more often than they really should be. A study found in the journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism showed that the longer participants of a study took to eat a bowl of ice cream the fuller they felt after eating it. The problem with eating too fast is that your stomach does not have time to release the hormones that are supposed to tell the brain when you are full and when to stop eating. When one inhales their food they end up eating many more calories than their body really needs.
references:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/opinion/sunday/always-hungry-heres-why.html?_r=0
http://www.stylist.co.uk/life/recipes/5-reasons-youre-always-hungry
http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2004/20041206-sleep.html
When I get stressed out, I get hungry its a fact! I really liked your post, because I’m kind of those type of persons that sit in front of the tv and eat pizza, I find it really entertaining and know that I read about it its bad. I found this site that talks about how emotions also affect the amount of food you eat! http://www.helpguide.org/articles/diet-weight-loss/emotional-eating.htm
I found this topic very interesting for me because I am constantly hungry. I know a lot of it has to do with a lack of sleep because since I have been here at Penn State, I have had weeks where I didn’t have that much work so I went to bed earlier, but this past week I have had a few exams so I have been up late studying almost every day. I have gotten around 5 hours of sleep every night this past week, so my body is constantly craving food. I totally agree with you that when you are sitting in front of a TV for several hours, you are more likely to snack more and eat unhealthy food items. I like the study you mentioned about individuals who slept around 5 hours per night consumed 221 more calories than someone who received around 8 hours of sleep a night. To make this blog even better, maybe next time include a couple more other studies to further solidify your argument. Eating too quickly also hits home for me because I am naturally a fast eater to begin with, and when I’m hungry, I practically inhale my food. That is why my stomach doesn’t feel full right after and I continue to eat more. I think our hunger is caused by several third variables like you mentioned. How many hours of sleep you get that night, how many hours of TV or social media you have been on that day, if you have skipping any meals, and your stress level can all contribute to how hungry you are. The link below talks about the link between hunger and stress, and there seems to be a hunger hormone in our body that could potentially increase our hunger levels.
http://commonhealth.wbur.org/2013/10/hunger-hormone-stress-ptsd
This is extremely relevant to my life because I am always hungry and I feel like no matter how much I eat I can never be full. I had no idea that sleep can affect how much you eat and how hungry you feel throughout the day, but now that I think about it, it makes sense. Whenever I don’t get a lot of sleep the night before I definitely notice that I am eating more throughout the day, as I am almost trying to keep myself awake. Also, I don’t know how some people can skip breakfast because I would definitely not be able to make it through the day if I did that. Here is a list of 23 breakfast foods that are good for on the go for all you who skip breakfast! http://www.buzzfeed.com/christinebyrne/on-the-go-breakfasts-that-are-actually-good-for-you#4irpfxb
When I first read the title, I had to read on. Not because I’m constantly hungry, but because my roommate is always eating. We always joke about how she’s always hungry but I read your article to find out if there was a scientific explanation to this. The study done by The University Of Chicago answered our question to why she is always hungry, because she isn’t sleeping enough. This connection is a really interesting one because I would not have thought how much sleep you get would effect how much you eat.
I was going to say exactly what Chartlotte said when I commented this post. I know that in front of a TV we tend to eat more because we are distracted. Not just high calorie snacks, pizza and sugary drinks. Even if we are eating fruit in front of a TV we will most likely eat more of it then if we weren’t. Howard LeWine, M.D., Chief Medical Editor Internet Publishing of Harvard Health Publications in his article states that “Multitasking—like eating while watching television or working—and distracted or hurried eating can prompt you to eat more. ” So when we eat we should probably be focused on just that so we are aware of what we are doing. I found it interesting in your article that lack of sleep can lead to eating more. Here at school my sleeping habits are so messed up and I find that I am sleeping for just about 6 hours (if I am lucky) every night. I didn’t realize this could or is effecting how I eat throughout the day and I am really going to make an effort to change this. I also heard that eating several smaller meals throughout the day is much healthier for you than three large ones, what’s your take on that?
I also find myself hungry all the time but you state interesting points. Studies show that no matter the content of the television show one is more inclined to eat more while in front of a TV. My guess is that because you are spacing out and not aware of your food intake while watching TV you are likely to eat more.
http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/content/watching-food-related-television-increases-caloric-intake-restrained-eaters
This definitely hits home because I don’t think I can go for any period of time without feeling hungry at some point. This seems to have gotten worse for me since I’ve started college. I feel hungry even after I eat or at random points during the day that I never experienced at home. I assumed this was because I was not eating meals at regular times, often just replaced meals with snacks that I could find in my room, and overall was not eating as healthy as I would like to. I had no idea that watching TV or losing sleep could be some of the reasons. This is definitely something that I am going to try to change in my daily life because I hate the feeling of eating and still never feeling full. If watching less TV and sleeping more can affect how hungry you feel the next day, I am definitely going to take that into consideration and try to fix. Great post and definitely very helpful!
I totally agree with what you said. I also think that it is a question of habits. Our organism is used to certain habits. So for example if you eat breakfast everyday with no exception, the day you will stop that, your body is not going to be used to it and you’ll become hungry. However, if you are the type of person that never eats in the morning, your body is used to it and you will never be hungry in the morning.