The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

A study I posted several months ago tied one’s lack of sleep and obesity to his or her leptin levels. Also, the lack of sleep raises one’s levels of grehlin, a chemical that spurs the urge to eat. Meaning when you’re more alert, you probably aren’t so hungry.

Yale researchers have traced another link to sleep debt and obesity to the hypocretin/orexin cells in the hypothalamus region of the brain that are easily excited and sensitive to stress. As neurons become over-activated by stressors in our daily lives, scientists believe that activity could be sustained for longer periods, triggering insomnia and overeating.

These hypecretin/orexin neurons …more