You might think it’s easy to tell when you’re sleep deprived—for example, you fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, or you doze off during boring meetings or at movies. But the reality is, symptoms of sleep deprivation are often so subtle that they are easily missed, says Christopher Winter, MD, a sleep specialist in Charlottesville, Virginia and author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It.
Take this quiz (check your score at the end) to find out if your sleep habits are putting you at risk—and what you can do about it.
Question 1
Are you always hungry?
A: Yes, but I haven’t gained weight
B: Yes, and I’ve put on some extra pounds
C: No, my appetite is under control
Research published in the Annals of Medicine shows that not getting enough shut-eye can alter two hunger hormones in your body. It increases levels of ghrelin, which ramps up your appetite while lowering levels of leptin, a hormone made by fat cells that actually works to suppress your appetite.
“Being hungry and tired is a dangerous combination because your body automatically gravitates toward things that give you more quick energy, such as a bag of chips or an ice cream sandwich,” says Winter. “You’re essentially eating to keep yourself awake.” Packing on weight may be a sign of even more severe sleep deprivation. One study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that just four and a half hours of sleep for four days straight reduces your fat cells’ ability to respond to insulin, one of the hormones responsible for fat storage, by 30%.
