Results show that the intensity of self-reported craving for carbohydrates 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 high school seniors 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). Students experiencing strong depression were almost three times more likely to have a strong craving for carbohydrates.
[The reason for this is that kids are suffering from orthostatic hypotension. Carbohydrates temporarily increase cerebral blood perfusion and wake them from their low blood flow sleepy state. Unfortunately, there is concern that these very same carbohydrates are causing the autonomic dysfunction leading to the low cerebral perfusion in the first place.]
News Source:
American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2011, June 15). Daytime sleepiness is associated with an increased craving for carbs among teens. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 18, 2011, from https://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2011/06/110614101246.htm
