Meditations and Learnings

Meditations and Learnings

Impact of Sleep on Taste Perception

There is evidence which strongly suggests that our sweet taste perception is significantly altered after sleep curtailment.
In a 2019 study Robin Tucker at al curtailed the sleep of subjects by 33% of their habitual duration. The following day they measured a preference for 45% sweeter foods than measured before the restricted sleep. After said restriction the subjects were also observed to make more of an effort during a task for which there was a chocolate reward. This was shown to not be a decrease in the sensitivity to sweetness, but to be an increased desire for the sweetness.