If you need yet another health reason to get enough sleep, here’s one that may wake you up: Science shows that a loss of sleep can make you eat more. And that doesn’t mean healthful salads and green veggies. Studies have shown that total sleep deprivation can trigger a reward system in the brain in response to food stimuli. But until recently researchers didn’t know if there was a similar relationship between everyday sleep loss and the brain’s reaction to food. Researchers looked at volunteers who entered a nine-day study period with a built-up sleep debt. Under ideal sleep conditions, scientists were able to show two things: That even small amounts of sleep loss can put the “brain at risk for hyperactivation to food triggers in everyday life, which could be a risk factor for obesity and lifestyle diseases.” These include metabolic disorder, the first step toward diabetes. Yet on the flip side getting the right amount of sleep appears to reduce this hypersensitivity to food stimuli. The study was published in the journal Sleep. Another study, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, added work stress to the mix. Researchers found that when people came home after a hard day at work, they were more likely to eat their feelings if they were also sleep-deprived. Simply put, if you don’t get enough sleep, unhealthy…  read on >

Can television teach kids how to eat healthy? Maybe, suggests new research. Watching cooking shows that featured healthy recipes seemed to encourage healthy eating in children, the study showed. “The findings from this study indicate cooking programs can be a promising tool for promoting positive changes in children’s food-related preferences, attitudes and behaviors,” said lead author Frans Folkvord, from Tilburg University in the Netherlands. The researchers recruited 125 children, aged 10 to 12, who watched 10 minutes of a Dutch public television cooking program designed for children. All were offered a snack as a reward for taking part in the study. Some of the children watched an episode featuring healthy food, while others watched an episode featuring unhealthy food. Those who watched the healthy episode were 2.7 times more likely to choose a healthy snack (an apple or a few pieces of cucumber) than an unhealthy snack (a handful of chips or salted mini-pretzels). The study was published Jan. 8 in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. Previous research has found children are more likely to eat healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables if they help prepare meals. However, the growing reliance on ready-prepared foods and fewer parents preparing fresh foods have led to a drop in cooking skills among children, the researchers said. They noted that the study was conducted at the…  read on >

Elaborate feasts are a centerpiece of the holidays, but all that food can make people with restricted diets feel left out, a new study suggests. People whose allergies or health, religious or cultural norms keep them from sharing the meals with others can leave them lonely, researchers say. “Despite being physically present with others, having a food restriction leaves people feeling left out because they are not able to take part in bonding over the meal,” said researcher Kaitlin Woolley, an assistant professor of marketing at Cornell University. A review of seven previously published studies found that restricted diets predicted loneliness among both children and adults. In one experiment, for instance, when people without food restrictions were given restrictions, they felt lonely. This suggests that these feelings aren’t the result of other issues or just picky eating, Woolley said. More evidence came from people who attended a Passover Seder. When they were reminded that they couldn’t eat leavened foods, participants felt lonelier. But within their restricted group, they felt a stronger bond. In earlier research, Woolley found that strangers felt more connected and trusting when they shared the same food. Also, sharing food from the same plate increased cooperation between strangers. But restricted sharing makes people suffer “food worries,” she said. They’re concerned about what they can eat and if others will judge them for…  read on >