Sleep deprivation associated with food desire and food purchasing

Sleep deprivation significantly decreases activity in appetitive evaluation regions within the human brain and increases food purchasing the next day.

Sleep deprivation has been shown to reduce activity in appetitive evaluation regions within the human frontal cortex and insular cortex during food desirability choices. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to scan the brain of 23 healthy volunteers following both a normal night's sleep and a sleepless night. Activity in the frontal lobe, the region responsible for complex decision making, was impaired in the sleep-deprived brain while increased activity was observed in deeper brain centers which respond to rewards. Participants desired more high-calorie foods when they were sleep deprived. The findings suggest a brain mechanism by which sleep deprivation may influence the development of obesity.

Acute sleep deprivation has also been reported to increase food purchasing the following day. Sleep deprivation was associated with an increase in plasma ghrelin concentrations, a hormone responsible for increasing hunger, in 14 healthy volunteers. Sleep deprived individuals purchased significantly more calories and grams of food than they did after one night of sleep. The study suggests that acute sleep loss may influence food purchasing behavior.

Intelligent Eating Eggs: Science, Fiction, Or Yolklore?

It has previously been reported that omega-3 fatty acids lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, reduce triglyceride levels and lower blood pressure as well as delay the onset of dementia.

The effects of dietary intervention using eggs enriched with omega-3 fatty acids on plasma lipid concentrations, blood pressure and memory recall were determined in 8 healthy adult male and female participants.

Volunteers consumed three standard eggs per day in addition to their normal diet for the first 7 day test period followed by a 7 day washout period. The same group of volunteers then consumed three omega-3 eggs per day in addition to their normal diet for a further 7 day test period. Measurements were taken at baseline and periodically up to 11 days following commencement of each dietary regime.

Results analysis determined that mean plasma total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol concentration was significantly increased by consumption of standard eggs (P<0.05) but significantly reduced (P<0.05) by consumption of omega-3 enriched eggs. Mean HDL-cholesterol concentration was unchanged by standard eggs but decreased significantly (P<0.05) by omega-3 eggs. No significant effect on plasma triglycerides was observed with consumption of either type of egg.

Both systolic and diastolic pressure was unchanged by intervention with either egg regime. There was a slight increase in memory recall test scores following consumption of both standard and omega-3 eggs. The increase however, was not statistically significant (P>0.05).

Inclusion of dietary omega-3 eggs may offer some health benefits, however the decrease in HDL cholesterol observed suggests the effects may also be detrimental to health.