A Study Shows You Might Need More Sleep If You Always Crave for Sugar


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Last Updated on 2022-10-15 , 3:07 pm

We all know that sugar isn’t good, especially so with the war against diabetes

And I have been watching my sugar intake, ensuring that I don’t exceed the limit which is around 40g to 55g per day.

But there are days where my taste buds would implore me to eat something saccharine, and I end up giving in to temptations coz’ I am a weak ass b****.

I would devour a box of chocolates in one sitting.

And then I started noticing a pattern—the sugar cravings kick in when I am running low on sleep.

Sleep to curb your sugar cravings?

Now, there is a study that was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that legitimizes my speculation: sleeping long hours may reduce cravings for sweet treats.

The study analysed two groups—21 participants who had a 45-minute sleep consultation which helped them to extend their sleep by 1.5 hours more each night and another set of 21 participants who did not receive any sort of sleep consultation.

The sleep consultation included a list of sleep hygiene behaviours such as avoiding caffeine before bedtime and not going to bed feeling bloated or hungry.

They were all given a wrist sensor which measured their sleep patterns and they had to record their dietary patterns as well.

The results

The former reduced their sugar intake by 10 grams the next day compared with the amount of sugar they consumed at the beginning of the study and they also lowered their carb intake as compared to the latter.

Lead researcher Haya Al Khatib, a professor from in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at King’s College London said: “Sleep duration and quality is an area of increasing public health concern and has been linked as a risk factor for various conditions.”

“Our results also suggest that increasing time in bed for an hour or so longer may lead to healthier food choices. This further strengthens the link between short sleep and poorer quality diets that has already been observed by previous studies,” he added.

This shouldn’t come as a surprise since lack of sleep messes with our body as there are a number of studies which revealed that people who sleep five hours or less are more prone to weight gain and weight-related diseases.

So, what do you?

Sleep your way to skinny!


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