I feel great! I must be...hungry?
Feeling hungry is not fun or pleasurable, (if you’re me), but it might make you happier.
When our bodies send out hunger signals, levels of a ghrelin, an appetite stimulating hormone, increase. According to a recent study, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, ghrelin’s staring roll may not be letting you know it’s time for a snack, but fighting stress.
The study
Using mice, researchers played with ghrelin levels by restricting calories and giving injections of the hormone that overtime made the mice numb to ghrelin’s appetite-rendering affects.
How did the mice feel?
Appetite aside, the dominating mood of the study was downright depressing! Mice with low levels of ghrelin activity were suicidal, (if pushed into deep water they didn’t try to swim), scared, (when they were put in a maze they hung by the entryway), and lonely, (they didn’t play with other mice).
Those mice could use a pick me up...
Interestingly, mice who showed symptoms of ghrelin-induced depression responded very well, (they perked right up), when they received anti-depressant medication.
Eggs, toast, and a side of ghrelin please...
Mice with high ghrelin levels swam like champs and took to the maze, searching eagerly for an exit. They socialized and were not afraid to explore new social environments.
Also...
Sleep studies have found that ghrelin levels increase between midnight and dawn in thin people. This may be caused by a flaw in the circadian system of obese individuals. A different sleep study, led by professor Cappuccio of the University of Warwick, found not getting enough rest may lead to obesity by increasing appetite (brought on by hormonal changes), during the day. While lack of ghrelin may cause depression, lack of sleep pumps more ghrelin into our systems which equals, “I’m hungry.” Constantly feeling hungry may also mean your body is creating less leptin, a hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and energy expenditure, including appetite and metabolism.
The lesson here? It’s all about balance. Get a good nights rest and eat healthy to keep hormones, hunger, and mood swings in check.
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