Have you ever wondered why some days all you want to do is snack?

不知道你有沒(méi)有想過(guò)這個(gè)問(wèn)題：為什么有時(shí)候你會(huì)不停地想吃東西？

Under normal circumstances, we feel hungry when we have burnt up the food we have eaten as energy and our blood sugar and insulin levels begin to drop. Ghrelin, a hormone connected to appetite, then communicates this to the brain, which is how we feel the need to eat.

在正常情況下，當(dāng)身體把食物轉(zhuǎn)為能量消耗掉之后，我們的血糖和胰島素水平也開始降低，這時(shí)我們就會(huì)感到饑餓。然后，饑餓激素將這個(gè)信息傳達(dá)給大腦。這樣我們就會(huì)感覺到需要吃東西了。

insulin：胰島素

Ghrelin：/?ɡr?l?n/食欲刺激素

But all sorts of things can interfere with this process.

但是各種各樣的事情都會(huì)干擾這個(gè)過(guò)程。

1  When you are tired

According to a 2011 study by researchers at Columbia University in the US, those who are sleep-deprived eat almost 300 calories a day more than those who get enough sleep.

根據(jù)美國(guó)哥倫比亞大學(xué)2011年研究人員的一項(xiàng)研究，那些睡眠不足的人每天攝入的熱量幾乎比那些睡眠充足的人多300卡路里。

This is because levels of the hormone ghrelin, which tells the brain we need to eat, increase when we don't get enough sleep.

這是因?yàn)楫?dāng)我們沒(méi)有足夠的睡眠時(shí)，饑餓激素會(huì)增加，會(huì)告訴大腦需要吃更多的東西。

The Columbia researchers noted that the women who didn't get enough sleep took in more fat rising by around 30g on sleep-deprived days — four times as much as the average increase for men.

哥倫比亞大學(xué)的研究人員指出，睡眠不足的女性在睡眠不足的日子里攝入的脂肪增加了約30克。這是男性平均增加量的四倍。

2  Troubled times

In a 2013 study, people who were primed to expect "tough times ahead" ate more food than people who listened to neutral messages.

在2013年的一項(xiàng)研究中，那些得知不久會(huì)遇到“艱難時(shí)期”的人會(huì)比獲得中性信息的人吃更多的食物。

primed：準(zhǔn)備好的

It's thought that hearing about troubled times causes a survival instinct to kick in, leading to cravings for high-calorie snacks such as chocolate.

一聽說(shuō)“有麻煩了”，人的生存本能就被激發(fā)了，對(duì)巧克力等高熱量零食的渴望也隨之增加。

3  'Naughty' food cravings

Tempted by that extra biscuit? Then just enjoy it — as researchers have found that when you feel guilty about a pleasurable experience, the guilt itself becomes pleasurable, so encouraging you to do it more.

還想再吃一塊小餅干？吃就吃吧，開心一點(diǎn)。研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)，當(dāng)你對(duì)某個(gè)愉快的體驗(yàn)感到內(nèi)疚時(shí)，內(nèi)疚本身也會(huì)帶來(lái)快感，進(jìn)而鼓勵(lì)你再次去做這件事。

"If we consider something a naughty pleasure, it can psychologically drive the appetite and the guilt may make you want to eat more," says Cary Cooper, at the University of Lancaster.

蘭卡斯特大學(xué)的Cary Cooper說(shuō)，如果我們認(rèn)為某件事會(huì)帶來(lái)不守規(guī)矩的快感，它會(huì)在心理上促進(jìn)食欲，而這種內(nèi)疚可能會(huì)讓你想要吃更多。

The appetite center of the brain also lies very close to the area governing mood — the limbic system — which is why changes in the way we feel may affect appetite.

大腦中的食欲控制區(qū)域非常接近情緒控制區(qū)域——邊緣系統(tǒng)——這就是為什么我們的情緒變化會(huì)影響食欲。

limbic：邊緣的

4  Mobiles' blue light

The bright blue light emitted by devices such as smartphones and tablets may give an unwelcome boost to your appetite.

智能手機(jī)和平板電腦等設(shè)備發(fā)出的藍(lán)光可能會(huì)增進(jìn)飲食。

Research this year found that your appetite continued to increase when you are exposed to the light.

今年的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，藍(lán)光下你的食欲會(huì)持續(xù)增加。

It also altered people's metabolism, as blood tests showed that the blue-light subjects had higher insulin and glucose levels.

藍(lán)光的照射還會(huì)改變?nèi)藗兊男玛惔x。血液測(cè)試顯示，接受藍(lán)光受試者的胰島素和葡萄糖水平都更高。

metabolism  /m?'t?b?l?z?m/：新陳代謝

glucose /'ɡlukos/：葡萄糖

One possible explanation is that bright blue light at night confuses our body clock, which has a role in controlling when we feel the need to eat.

一種可能的解釋是，夜間明亮的藍(lán)光會(huì)干擾我們的生物鐘。而生物鐘可以控制我們什么時(shí)候覺得需要進(jìn)食。

不知道今天的文章有沒(méi)有解決你的疑問(wèn)呢？

來(lái)源：每日郵報(bào)

編輯：張曦

實(shí)習(xí)生：鐘文興