why do I go to bed ravenous and wake up ok?

[jasper]

Like many others I find the hours between dinner and bedtime the most challenging as this is when the fat beast within traditionally wants to scarf down all the tasty extras. Especially when everyone else has gone to bed. I do enjoy a solo foodfest.

BUT I SHALL RESIST....

I go to bed feeling VERY hungry, but when I wake I feel fine and not hungry till mid morning. I know no one can actually explain this odd phenomenon, but do any of you have a theory?
And we all know that the opposite is true as well - go to bed stuffed, wake hungry.


Thanks in advance of your collective genius.

[Anoulie]

Well, doctors can explain this phenomenon... I'm only in my first semester as a med student, but I believe it has something to do with glycogen. When you eat something, most of the energy is stored as glycogen for the first few hours before it's either burned or transferred into fat.

That's what I know for certain. My theory now:
Hunger is caused by a low blood sugar. When all glycogen is used up, the blood sugar goes down and you get hungry. When you don't eat (and especially while you sleep), the body accesses the stored energy in the fat cells and uses (burns) that. Glucose is released into the blood and your blood sugar goes back up to normal levels.

I might be wrong with the theory here, but it seems plausible. Any doctors here?

[mulliganagain]

Unfortunately I can't really say why, but I can just say that you're not alone... i do that too! If I'm feeling munchy at night, I know if I go to bed I'll be okay when I wake up, and I always am. I've heard it has something to do with insulin, leptin, and other body chemical level-y type stuff.

[ironchef]

I'm the same way.

Also, I read somewhere (not sure where) that chemicals we release when we sleep stop us feeling hungry. Otherwise we'd all be waking in the night hungry after 8, 10, 12 hours without food. Hence a lot of people don't really feel like breakfast first thing when they get up.