Daytime sleepiness is associated with an increased craving for carbs among teens

June 15, 2011

Science Daily/American Academy of Sleep Medicine

In a new study, the intensity of self-reported craving for carbohydrates among 262 high school seniors increased in a linear relationship with the severity of subjective daytime sleepiness.

The odds of having a strong craving for carbs were 50 percent higher among those with excessive daytime sleepiness. The rate of depression also was higher among students who had a strong craving for carbohydrates (34 percent) than among students who had little or no craving for carbs (22 percent).

"This is one of the first studies in a high school population to show a linear relationship between carbohydrate craving and sleep deprivation," said principal investigator Dr. Mahmood Siddique, director of Sleep and Wellness Medical Associates and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.

"In particular, as sleep deprivation increased, self-reported carbohydrate craving also increased. Further, the risk of carbohydrate craving was especially strong among depressed students."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110614101246.htm