Posted on November 9, 2008
Filed Under Health, Video Podcasts

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Are you like me? Staying up late working on my computer tends to make me hungry. It seems like I am burning calories, and that warrants having a snack. Well, apparently the brain is tricking us a bit by creating a hunger connection without the usual caloric expenditure. So over time, the less you sleep and the more you are thinking the more likely you are to gaining weight! Guess it is time to use my brain to ignore what my brain is telling my tummy. This research was done at Laval University in Quebec.

Hawaiian Word:
Manaʻo Think

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Comments

7 Responses to “Beach Walk 713 – Thinking Makes Us Hungry”

Susan and my dog Lexie on November 10th, 2008 4:20 am

Can anyone imagine the biggest restaurant feasting being timed for breakfast?! However, the pacing of the present day seems forgetful to the old rule of thumb: eating breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper.

Even Benjamin Franklin subscribed to this notion.

Thanks for another thought-provoking day, Rox. You rock!!

Bob from Canada on November 10th, 2008 4:22 am

I think the tummy holds this power over the brain.....I mean listen to it growl when it wants something....good points though,we need will power...and by the way mentioning Birthday Cake doesn't help

Susan and my dog Lexie on November 10th, 2008 4:40 am

@Bob - You're right about the birthday cake remark at the very end...lol!!

Rox on November 10th, 2008 7:19 am

I for one was glad to hear about it. It had not made any sense to me, that if I am hungry, which I get when working late - and I eat a little - yes, I am disciplined for the most part, then why the heck was I gaining weight?

The durn brain was tricking me. It is kind of like paddling - we work incredibly hard but let's face it - the muscles being used are the upper body, not the legs so much. They are smaller muscles, therefore they burn fewer calories than if we were running hard. So no matter how much exertion I perceived, the caloric use is just not the same as running or cycling hard.

Stephanie on January 28th, 2009 8:24 am

Fatigue does make us hungry! When we're tired, our adrenals excrete cortisol to keep us going. That causes our blood sugar to rise correspondingly, then crash when it has nothing to burn itself on. And bingo...low blood sugar.

BODA weight loss

Lisa on August 19th, 2010 5:40 pm

Thanks for the timely warning! (Okay, I'm just viewing this now, 1-1/2 years after you posted it, but still...) I'm being considered for a shift change to my job. Currently, I work at my computer until 11:30 at night, but I might be moving to a 10-hour shift that will keep me up until 1 a.m. - Just today (I'm not kidding) I was thinking that I should add a snack somewhere towards the end of the new shift - not so much because I will be hungry but just to break up the time and give me something to look forward to! Maybe a late evening stroll instead?

Rox on September 9th, 2010 12:02 pm

Stephanie - the adrenals do play a role - I've crashed mine before so paying attention to sleep is a good thing!

@ Lisa - a stroll soun@ds good! and of course drinking water seems to help many too.