Being tired makes you more hungry, and other things that happen to your sleep-deprived body

It’s a generally accepted fact that when we don’t get enough sleep, we get SO. FREAKIN’. HUNGRY. Like, absurdly so. Nothing makes us crave a greasy, fat-filled meal quite like an all-nighter or partying all night long with our squad. But it’s only just now occurred to us to ask why, and we finally have an answer for why not getting enough sleep makes us so hungry.

Sleep expert Dr. Pyatkevich and Dianne Augelli, M.D., told SELF,

“Sleep deprivation effects can show up pretty quickly as appetite changes. Your levels of ghrelin, a hormone responsible for letting your brain know you’re hungry, goes up when you’ve had insufficient sleep."

Plus, according to a study in the journal Sleep, not eating can make us at risk of obesity because of how hungry it makes us. It says,

"Sleep curtailment results in stimulation of hunger and food intake that exceeds the energy cost of extended wakefulness, suggesting the involvement of reward mechanisms."

Basically? Not sleeping enough throws our bodies entirely out of whack.

So go get some shut eye, lady! Not getting enough sleep is seriously no good. You’re an adult now! And trust us: sleep deprivation has zero positives (not even getting that report done on time!), and as much as you try to convince yourself you’ll make up for the lost sleep later on, that’s just not how our bodies work. So say goodbye to the all-too-common sleep deprivation, and say hello to a happier, calmer tum.