Lack of Sleep & Cravings

In Joanie Greggains book, Fit Happens, she talks about the connection between working late instead of sleeping. She states that lack of sleep results in increased appetite from stress. When the body is craving the calming, sedative effect that should have been achieved with sleep, it instead manifests as strong and sometimes intense cravings for carbs (sugar)

The carb snacking allows the body to produce serotonin, which it needs after staying awake late, but then the body produces too much cortisol. The serotonin calms us after the cortisol makes us edgy.

Bottom line is this. If you don't sleep when you should, you'll eat more than you should.