Midnight munchies mangle memory
An occasional late-night raid on turkey leftovers might be harmless but new research with mice suggests that making a habit of it could alter brain physiology.
Eating at times normally reserved for sleep causes a deficiency in the type of learning and memory controlled by the hippocampal area of the brain, according to findings in the journal eLife.
Eating at the wrong time also disrupted sleep patterns. The inappropriate feeding schedule resulted in the loss of the normal day/night difference in the amount of sleep although the total time spent asleep over 24 hours was not changed. Sleep became fragmented, with the mice catching up on sleep by grabbing more short naps throughout the day and night.
Study:
http://elifesciences.org/content/4/e09460
Article:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-12/e-mmm122015.php
#neuroscience #memory #ED
It does explain insomnia somewhat, assuming most who have it are late night shift workers
ReplyDeleteI believe irresistible cravings for food are signs of malnutrition. If you can't stop eating, you're probably deficient in some vitamin or mineral that is only there in trace amounts in the food you're craving. Switch to something healthier, you can conquer the munchies!
ReplyDeleteThank you, this is very timely. I get home and eat, late at night and it seems to be pretty bad for my sleep patterns.
ReplyDelete