EXCLUSIVE How the exact time you wake up can influence how hungry you are all day - even if you got your full 8 hours READ MORE: Here's why a late night can cause havoc for your diet By Maiya Focht For Dailymail.Com Published: 13:08 BST, 27 May 2024 | Updated: 13:11 BST, 27 May 2024 e-mail 7 View comments Ever got up for an early flight and, by the time you get to the airport, you find you're absolutely ravenous? You wouldn't be alone, science suggests. According to an intriguing body of evidence, our finely-tuned appetite clock falls out of whack with unusually early starts, making us reach for calorific snacks.
In fact, some scientists have suggested that this phenomenon could go some way to explain obesity in those with frequently erratic schedules, including those who travel often. A highly influential paper published in 2013 found that participants' appetite hit an a low at 8 am — suggesting waking even an hour earlier could see an cause a slight increase in hunger pangs. The Harvard researchers determined that appetite is lowest around when you wake up and peaks around evening.
If you're noticing yourself voraciously hungry throughout the day, it might bode you well to consider your sleeping habits, and make sure you eat balanced meals. In the study , by experts at Harvard University, 12 volunteers were put under strict watch for 13 days in a dimly lit laboratory with no clocks, so they had no sense of time. The researchers tracked their meals, sleep and waking times .
