Why Do You Want to Eat Though You’re Not Hungry? 明明不饿，却为什么总想吃东西?

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

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.

But all sorts of things can interfere with this process.

你有沒有想过这个问题：为什么有时候你总想吃东西？

正常情况下，当我们的身体把所摄入的食物转化为能量消耗之后，我们的血糖和胰岛素水平开始降低，这时我们就会感到饥饿。然后，胃饥饿素——一种跟食欲相关的激素——将这个信息传达给大脑，这样我们就会感到需要吃东西了。

但是各种各样的事情都会干扰这个过程。

According to a 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.

This is because levels of the hormone ghrelin， which tells the brain we need to eat， increase when we dont get enough sleep.

The Columbia researchers noted that the women who didnt 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.

根据美国哥伦比亚大学研究人员的一项研究，那些睡眠不足的人每天摄入的热量几乎比那些睡眠充足的人多300卡路里。

这是因为当我们睡眠不足时，告诉大脑我们需要进食的胃饥饿素的水平会升高。

哥伦比亚大学的研究人员指出，睡眠不足的女性在睡眠不足的日子里摄入的脂肪增加了约30克——是男性平均增加量的四倍。

Troubled times

有麻烦时

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

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

在一项研究中，那些得知不久会遭遇“艰难时期”的人会比获得中性信息的人吃得更多。

人们认为，一听说“有麻烦了”，人的生存本能会被激发，这也就导致了对巧克力等高热量零食的渴求。

Food cravings

对食物的渴望

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.

“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.

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.

还想再吃一块小饼干？那么，想吃就吃吧，因为研究人员发现，当你对某次愉快的体验感到内疚时，内疚本身也会变得愉悦，进而鼓励你再次去做这件事。

兰卡斯特大学的卡里·库珀说：“如果我们认为某件事会带来不妥的愉悦感，这会在心理上促进食欲，而且这种内疚可能会让你想要吃得更多。”

大脑中的食欲中枢非常靠近情绪控制区域——边缘系统——这就是为什么我们的情绪变化会影响食欲。

Mobiles blue light

手機蓝光

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

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

It also altered peoples metabolism. Blood tests showed that the blue-light subjects had higher insulin and glucose levels.

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.

智能手机和平板电脑等设备发出的蓝光可能会促进你的食欲。

研究发现，在蓝光的照射下，你的食欲会持续增加。

蓝光的照射还会改变人们的新陈代谢过程。血液测试显示，在蓝光照射下的测试者的胰岛素和葡萄糖水平都更高。

一种可能的解释是，夜间明亮的蓝光会干扰我们的生物钟，而生物钟可以控制我们什么时候感到需要进食。

Word Study

interfere /'?nt?'f??（r）/ v. 妨碍;干扰

She never allows her personal feelings to

interfere with her work.

prime /pra?m/ v. 事先指点;使（某人）做好准备

Did you prime her with what to say？

instinct /'?nst??kt/ n. 本能;天性

craving /'kre?v??/ n. 强烈的愿望;渴望

guilty /'ɡ?lti/ adj. 感到内疚的

emit /i'm?t/ v. 发出;散发