“I really found that one effect of sleep deprivation was that my appetite grew. I was so hungry I wanted to eat my pillow,” says Matthew Tierney.
Matthew Tierney participated in a study conducted by the University of Chicago which put sleep deprivation and the effects of sleep deprivation on appetite to the test.

“One effect of sleep deprivation is that our brain doesn’t function normally. There is a signaling of a need for more fuel to compensate for sleepiness,” says Dr. Eve Van Cauter of the University of Chicago.
Research, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that after limited sleep, hunger hormones increased. Participants who had sleep deprivation especially craved food with high carbohydrate content.
“Sleep deprivation seemed to induce an appetite for sweets, candy, cakes and ice cream. Participants also craved salty snacks such as potato chips, and finally bread and pasta,” says Dr. Van Cauter.
Leptin and ghrelin are hormones that help to regulate hunger. Leptin decreases hunger, so people don’t feel hungry when leptin levels are high. Ghrelin increases hunger so people feel hungry when levels are high. Participants were assigned two days of sleep restriction, where they only got around 4 hours a day of sleep. Then they had two days of sleep up to 10 hours a day.
“After the second night in both conditions, we measured their blood at frequent intervals, the levels of two hormones that control appetite. They were more hungry when they had short sleep times, suggesting that one effect of sleep deprivation could be increased appetite” says Dr. Van Cauter.
Matthew says not only did his hunger go into overdrive but he felt like a zombie on the days he only got 4 hours of sleep.
“With the holiday season I definitely see myself avoiding sleep deprivation, particularly since I’m likely to be increasing my caloric intake,” says Matthew.

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