We feel hungry even after overeating the previous night because through the night our blood sugar levels drop. The insulin released after the heavy meal causes the body to use up or store the glucose. Additionally, our stomach is empty after a long night’s sleep, which can also cause hunger pangs.
There are times when we eat WAY more than we should; we might be at a party, celebrating an occasion or event with family, or just feeling very good about ourselves. On other occasions, we end up eating a lot just because we feel like it… and then hate ourselves a few hours later.
However, this article is not about the self-loathing that follows an episode of binge eating; it’s about something that happens the next day.
If you’ve ever had a heavy dinner and topped it off with two cups of ice cream and copious cocktails, it’s highly likely that you woke up the next day feeling insanely hungry.
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Over Eating Leads To A Glucose Overdose
Most of the carbohydrates you eat are turned into glucose within the body. This is a good thing, as every organ in the human body needs glucose to work. The brain alone consumes nearly one-fifth of the total amount of glucose that the body requires every day.
Not just sweet and sugary foods like cake, pastries, bread, ice cream, cold drinks etc., but also foods that do not taste sweet, like bread, rice, pasta etc., contain a great deal of sugar, which is why they are casually referred to as ‘sugary foods’.
If you consume such ‘sugary foods’, your body will suddenly find itself with an excess of glucose. That’s why, if you ever test your blood glucose (blood sugar) levels just after binge eating, they would be much higher than normal.
Many of us can’t really differentiate between the feelings of hunger and thirst. The process of digestion requires both energy and water, and while you’re asleep, you obviously don’t drink water.
Thus, if you are starving in the morning after binge-eating the night before, try drinking a glass of water and two, then wait for an hour or so. You’ll probably feel better, and will avoid another binge-eating session for breakfast!
References (click to expand)
- Fast all day and feast at night – Healthy? - Go Ask Alice!. Columbia University
- Pancreas Basics - Pancreatic Cancer. Johns Hopkins University
- Eating for pleasure easier to overdo than eating when hungry. Harvard University
- Binge Eating - www.canyons.edu
- Eating Frequency and Weight Loss - Harvard Health. Harvard University
