It certainly is true for me. Like many food addicts, I battle with my weight. I have made great strides, especially during the last decade, but my unique trigger is sleep deprivation.

Sometimes I just cannot sleep. Being the kind of food addict that I am, I have gotten a little “fluffy” lately. “Fat” sounds too cruel if you haven’t had a good night’s sleep. The more sleep deprived I am, the higher my risk of emotional eating.

Most diet and nutrition professionals, or bariatric physicians, might think that being fat is the worst part of having a food addiction. But the worst part is not being able to regain control easily after you jump the line.

Emotional eating sounds pretty lame to anyone who has never done anything more than pig out on ice cream when they broke up with their boyfriend or girlfriend.

With a food addict, stress does things to your body that causes you to behave in ways that people who have an occasional bout with overeating would not comprehend.

Dr. Susan Lark says that when you don’t get enough good quality restorative sleep , two particular hormones are affected. One is leptin, which is supposed to let you know when you’re full, and the other one is something called ghrelin, which stimulates the appetite.

When our hormones are out of balance, overeating is not uncommon. It’s not just overeating because we’re gluttons or emotional eating because we had a bad day. It’s much more intense and complex.

It is a physical response to a hormone imbalance in the body that causes the liver to go wacky so you can’t metabolize glucose properly.

The bottom line is you start snacking on high-carb foods that work against your body. For food addicts, it’s even worse. We go out farther on the limb and it’s harder to get back.

I read that magnesium is important for women when it comes to sleep. I don’t remember where I read it but the article advised men to keep a bottle of magnesium on the nightstand for their wives.

I think I’ll try that tonight after my Frutaiga nightcap. If you have any non-drug remedies for sleeping through the night, please feel free to share.

Any sleep tips for women or men given to overeating, emotional eating, or food addiction would be welcome and greatly appreciated.

Thank you, and sweet dreams.