Connect with us

Science & Technology

How sleep affects what — and how much — you eat | Sleeping with Science

Did you know that not getting enough zzz’s can actually make you hungrier? According to sleep scientist Matt Walker, the relationship between what you eat and your sleep is a two-way street. Here’s why understanding it can help you improve your overall health. Sleep — we spend one-third of our lives doing it, but what…

Published

on

Did you know that not getting enough zzz’s can actually make you hungrier? According to sleep scientist Matt Walker, the relationship between what you eat and your sleep is a two-way street. Here’s why understanding it can help you improve your overall health.

Sleep — we spend one-third of our lives doing it, but what exactly do we get out of it? And how can we do it better? In this TED series, sleep scientist Matt Walker uncovers the facts and secrets behind our nightly slumber. (Made possible with the support of Oura) Check out more episodes on TED.com:

Visit to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more.

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. You’re welcome to link to or embed these videos, forward them to others and share these ideas with people you know.

Become a TED Member:
Follow TED on Twitter:
Like TED on Facebook:
Subscribe to our channel:

TED’s videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at

Continue Reading
Advertisement
70 Comments

70 Comments

  1. Ana Oxya

    December 8, 2021 at 8:09 pm

    Oh that’s interesting, thanks for this explanation, I really didn’t know that these two had a direct impact on each other, I guess that explains a lot regarding my current life habits 😅

    • Feroce

      December 8, 2021 at 10:35 pm

      Fitness is sometimes described as a three-legged chair. Quality Sleep, Quality Food, and Quality Exercise. If you lack one of those three things, then it just fails to work. Though arguably, one’s sleep and diet are the most important aspects.

  2. persian cowboy

    December 8, 2021 at 8:18 pm

    Aside from the physical and psychological points of this video , I really need to decrease the leptin of my body and increase the level of ghrelin ….. I always feel full and I’m scared of dying from hiden hunger😯

  3. TACHYON

    December 8, 2021 at 8:21 pm

    I was studying late night ( 1:50 am IST)
    And YouTube recommended me this video 🙂🙂🙂😆
    I gotta sleep now good night 💫😴

    • Lotschi

      December 8, 2021 at 9:19 pm

      here it‘s 10:20 pm
      I‘ll just finish my task and go to sleep then, good night!

  4. CJD

    December 8, 2021 at 8:22 pm

    If u want more info from Walker watch his episode on the hubermam lab HIGHLY RECOMMEND goes much deeper into the science of sleep 🧪

  5. Iran Henrique

    December 8, 2021 at 8:44 pm

    Every video from this author about sleep proves me that having a good quality sleep is the cure to almost all my problems! 😅

    Hope to fix it someday, recently, this year in particular, I can’t sleep without the proper medication.

    • No one star

      December 8, 2021 at 9:01 pm

      20+ years, and I’ve never been able to solve my sleep issues. Never. No matter how hard I study, try something new, or attempt new habits… I’m simply screwed, lol! 😂🤣😂

      Oh well. That’s the Universe’s natural selection. I’m ready to die early, that’s certain.

    • Lord Feder

      December 9, 2021 at 12:09 am

      @No one star how much hour do u sleep?

  6. CHANDAN SHARMA

    December 8, 2021 at 8:46 pm

    i am going to sleep 2:16 am

  7. HephZibah M.

    December 8, 2021 at 8:48 pm

    Great one there. Very enlightening. Thanks for that.

  8. Long Nguyen

    December 8, 2021 at 8:52 pm

    me eating my 2nd midnight snacks: *_Interesting_*

  9. Nonya Businesd

    December 8, 2021 at 8:58 pm

    This guy keeps omitting the necessary facts behind his research. People with depression or insomnia are not predisposed to be overweight. The fact that he singles out sleep as the only factor in the hunger and full signals is ridiculous. Obviously sleep well and the chemical balance will be optimal. But for those who are already out of balance are not out of hope. Multiple factors play into this including the thyroid and adrenaline systems, gut bacteria, brain chemistry, vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Etc etc etc. The only thing this researcher proves it what he has determined is correct. By excluding and precluding any factor he doesn’t feel relevant. If you continue to promote him I will unsub, as should anyone with half a brain.

  10. No one star

    December 8, 2021 at 8:59 pm

    Strange. For me, no matter how well I eat (salads, nuts, fruits, eggs, cheeses, turkey, carrots, celery, etc.)… I just don’t find enjoyment nor real satisfaction with what I eat.

    I sometimes (rarely) grab some fast food… but even that seems to have absolutely no effect on me.

    I drink a lot of water, and sometimes mix it with 1/8 natural, various 100% juices.

    After 20+ years of this, I just think that there’s no solution to my problems. 😓

  11. Kimira Rem

    December 8, 2021 at 9:00 pm

    POV: the for you page in your youtube actually hits your current situation😂 I can guarantee you that more than 50% of the people who saw this early on are actually overweight irl😂😭

    And you prolly are scrolling or seeing this at 4 to 5am in the morning too😭

    GO TO SLEEP YALL

  12. Surfer Rosa

    December 8, 2021 at 9:11 pm

    Believe it or not, a lack of sleep when you’re busy after midnight watching YouTube while eating snacks galore also causes delicious weight gain 🥯🍟🥨🌭🍕🍨🍧🥮🧁🍭🍫🍩🥧🍰🍦🍮🍪🍿

  13. jjutt87

    December 8, 2021 at 9:21 pm

    Who’s the Animator? I think I recognize her work??

  14. Ajay Nair

    December 8, 2021 at 9:26 pm

    Great video. Relatable.

  15. Die Taube

    December 8, 2021 at 9:30 pm

    I watched this at 3 am lol

  16. Simon Affentranger

    December 8, 2021 at 9:59 pm

    “Matthew Walker’s “Why We Sleep” Is Riddled with Scientific and Factual Errors” ~Alexey Guzey

  17. Shloomy Shloms

    December 8, 2021 at 10:15 pm

    I call BS I get all the sleep I need and still gain weight.

  18. BearOnTheMoon

    December 8, 2021 at 10:34 pm

    Ah… so that’s why I’m always craving chocolates when I do an all-nighter.
    Can’t actually attest to the weight gain though, since I can’t seem to get fat… sorry.

    • Sneed

      December 9, 2021 at 3:17 am

      I don’t know how old you are but the fat didn’t start accumulating until I was in my mid 20s. until then it didn’t matter what I ate or did but now eating a big mac seems to turn me into a pile of melting ice cream

    • BearOnTheMoon

      December 9, 2021 at 5:31 am

      @Sneed I just hit 40…

  19. Mr Niceguy

    December 8, 2021 at 11:08 pm

    If you listen to Matt Walker long enough, you’ll develop insomnia from the fear of not getting enough sleep

    • BotanicalOli

      December 9, 2021 at 3:19 am

      Hahahahhaaa

    • riyas ki

      December 9, 2021 at 4:23 am

      Think I’m a victim🤢

    • Mia Han

      December 9, 2021 at 9:17 am

      I admit, when I first heard his talk I was haunted for weeks.

    • george Michael

      December 9, 2021 at 8:55 pm

      He smokes crack pipes to induce his sleep

  20. Melesniannon

    December 8, 2021 at 11:10 pm

    If ever you need to listen to somebody to talk you to sleep, pick this guy.

  21. Giannis Gavriil

    December 8, 2021 at 11:15 pm

    Ok that’s nice but who else is lacking sleep to watch this video? 😅

  22. Drake Santiago

    December 8, 2021 at 11:58 pm

    The irony is that many “healthcare” workers do shift work, which actually makes them unhealthy, because sleep deprivation induces bad eating habits, not to mention other detrimental effects. Go sit in any hospital and some of the worst looking people, outside of the terminal ill patients, are the medical professionals taking care of them.

  23. Lord Feder

    December 9, 2021 at 12:09 am

    I’ve the opposite problem… I sleep too much. does that change my diet? I notice that before going to bed (if it’s late) I want to eat proteins like cheese etc.

  24. Neutrino

    December 9, 2021 at 12:19 am

    Watching this at 6am…
    Haven’t and most probably cannot sleep today. 😬

  25. 憂鬱

    December 9, 2021 at 1:31 am

    If not getting enough sleep can make you hungrier then why am I sleeping at almost 5am waking up at 12pm without appetite?

  26. be the genius

    December 9, 2021 at 1:38 am

    100% Agree

  27. Thomas Darling

    December 9, 2021 at 2:13 am

    Sleeping witb Science. Sounds raunchy

  28. Robbe Vanooteghem

    December 9, 2021 at 2:28 am

    Me watching this at 3:30 am … sure

  29. LG

    December 9, 2021 at 2:42 am

    😩F… ! 🦉I stayed up late especially to watch this! 🍔🍟🍕🥓🌭🍗 😉

  30. Moosa Anwar

    December 9, 2021 at 2:50 am

    It doesn’t work that way for me.

    • Sneed

      December 9, 2021 at 3:07 am

      since covid I’ve been sleeping like 12 hours a day and eat hardly anything but I’ve gained like 15kg in weight which makes sense (not doing anything) but doesn’t add up to this video

  31. Hà Nguyễn

    December 9, 2021 at 3:18 am

    ok, a sleep last night was not enough….

  32. Beejay Swifter

    December 9, 2021 at 3:46 am

    I’m just the opposite — the less sleep I get, the less I eat. Given a choice between eating and sleeping, sleepings always wins for me.

  33. Sarah Pfeuffer

    December 9, 2021 at 4:42 am

    Wow, thank you for letting me know. I like these short videos packed full of useful information.

    • Sense of Mind

      December 10, 2021 at 6:03 pm

      It’s pretty amazing how much content they get into 2 minutes!!

  34. Joshua Willis

    December 9, 2021 at 5:42 am

    carbs make you sleepy

  35. Joshua W

    December 9, 2021 at 5:42 am

    carbs make you sleepy

  36. Twins Mom Farjanas Vlog

    December 9, 2021 at 5:57 am

    Wow,,Thank you for shareing..

  37. Maciej Kulaszewicz

    December 9, 2021 at 10:11 am

    Why a lot of recognizable and powerful people sleep for 5-6 hours a day?
    Why budda can sleep for 2-3 hours and feel good?

  38. Anoetic OddZero

    December 9, 2021 at 10:28 am

    Well some do not get to choose even if they eat. Hopefully some can get food pantry help and others find ways for family and themselves.

  39. Dániel Nagy

    December 9, 2021 at 11:49 am

    Ok, then explain Jabba.

  40. Good Golly, Miss Lolly

    December 9, 2021 at 12:28 pm

    I’m diabetic and on the days after I’ve barely slept, my blood sugars will always skyrocket, and high blood sugars always make me hungry

    • GreenSteve

      December 24, 2021 at 1:13 am

      Interesting! Are you a Type 1 or Type 2?

  41. Laralinda

    December 9, 2021 at 6:19 pm

    Overweight people also often have sleep apnea.It’s a vicious circle.

  42. Valera Crivoruchenko

    December 9, 2021 at 7:29 pm

    I really don’t understand why you taking his words too close and get scared for days and nights or smth even worse. All he does is giving us recommendations and telling us what can (maybe, someday, never) happen with us if we don’t get enough sleep. It is only our decision to listen to him or not. Yes, he is not going deep into scientific explanations of all this sleep mechanisms, but his videos are like from 1:40 to 6 minutes long. It’s like short presentation, so why should you be so scared of it?
    Sending rays of kindness to Everyone.
    Take care and stay healthy!

  43. Spam Mouse

    December 10, 2021 at 9:43 am

    Video “shorts” are boring – go post them on Tik Tok.

  44. Sense of Mind

    December 10, 2021 at 6:02 pm

    The more I learn from Dr. Walker, the more I’m convinced that sleep is therapy for the brain.

    It’s so easy to tell myself “I don’t need THAT much sleep. I’ll be more productive if I have more hours in the day.” But that is almost always a mistake. I think we underestimate the power and efficiency of a well-rested brain.

    We can do amazing things in incredibly short amounts of time if we just get enough sleep!

  45. Aulia Aliyev

    December 11, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    Thank you for the informative mini lecture, Professor Walker 😀

  46. 老牛

    December 11, 2021 at 4:09 pm

    Very good “sleep tutorial” in a 2-min session. 棒!

  47. 廖景云JayceeR

    December 11, 2021 at 10:15 pm

    i have a pretty bad sleeping habit and he said something about craving sweets while i haven’t eaten any kind of sweet food except when there’s a birthday. but i do eat a lot of salty foods which is one that he didn’t mention but my doctor did mention.

  48. Ronan the theorist

    December 12, 2021 at 10:14 am

    Ted talks are really worth watching.

  49. Steve in Stamford

    December 13, 2021 at 3:16 am

    I’m in bed watching this. It’s 3.15 am. It made me hungry, I’m getting up🤣

  50. PonyCar Resurrection

    December 13, 2021 at 12:45 pm

    So sell me lepton pill for human sake. I remember having a great nights sleep once. I slept so long that I later found out that the Earth had rotated 150 degrees on its axis. I had traveled thousands of miles while I slept, but in the big picture had gone no where. Oh well say la vee.

  51. Cristina Alexe

    December 18, 2021 at 7:59 pm

    Insightful

  52. Neill Kilburn

    December 20, 2021 at 1:24 pm

    **does not apply to the Japanese. 😉

  53. Sunny Highway

    December 21, 2021 at 10:44 am

    more sleep – less food, everyone knows this

  54. sidewinder2057

    December 26, 2021 at 11:01 pm

    Walker had one of the best and informative podcasts on JRE

  55. Di Tokelio

    January 8, 2022 at 12:58 am

    I think I sleep too much, I’m never hungry -_-

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CNET

Using the Language Translator on the Rabbit R1 AI Device

It’s been over 6 months since the Rabbit R1 came out and after updates to the software, let’s see how far the language translator has come. #translation #rabbitr1 #aiassistant #englishtospanish Subscribe to CNET on YouTube: Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉 Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront: Follow us on TikTok: Follow…

Published

on

It’s been over 6 months since the Rabbit R1 came out and after updates to the software, let’s see how far the language translator has come. #translation #rabbitr1 #aiassistant #englishtospanish

Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on X:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Visit CNET.com:

Continue Reading

CNET

Rabbit R1: 6 Months Later

We revisited the Rabbit R1 AI assistant device. While it does have a few updates that improves its usefulness, it still isn’t useful enough to leave your phone behind – especially with AI becoming more relevant on phones. #rabbitr1 #ai #gadgets #aigadgets Subscribe to CNET on YouTube: Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser…

Published

on

We revisited the Rabbit R1 AI assistant device. While it does have a few updates that improves its usefulness, it still isn’t useful enough to leave your phone behind – especially with AI becoming more relevant on phones. #rabbitr1 #ai #gadgets #aigadgets

Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on X:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Visit CNET.com:

Continue Reading

CNET

Best Earbuds of 2024

Take a look at our 5 best earbuds of 2024, along with some honorable mentions. Did your favorites make the cut? Read more on CNET: Best Wireless Earbuds of 2024 Apple Airpods 4 Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro Bowers & Wilkens Pi8 Earfun Air Pro 4 *CNET may get a…

Published

on

Take a look at our 5 best earbuds of 2024, along with some honorable mentions. Did your favorites make the cut?

Read more on CNET: Best Wireless Earbuds of 2024

Apple Airpods 4
Google Pixel Buds Pro 2
Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro
Bowers & Wilkens Pi8
Earfun Air Pro 4
*CNET may get a commission on these offers

0:22 Airpods 4
1:12 Google Pixel Buds Pro 2
1:50 Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro
2:42 Bowers & Wilkens Pi8
3:17 Earfun Air Pro 4
3:52 Honorable Mentions
4:50 Conclusion

Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on X:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Visit CNET.com:

#pixelbuds #airpods4 #galaxybuds3pro #earbuds #wirelessearbuds

Continue Reading

Trending