Late-night snacking: Is it your brain's fault?

New research documents how brains respond to food images at night (and morning) After gobbling the fourth Oreo in a row while bathed in refrigerator light, have you ever thought, "That wasn't ...

http://www.neuroscientistnews.com/research-news/late-night-snacking-it-your-brains-fault

We've all gotten the urge to consume a midnight snack, and new research from scientists at Brigham Young University may explain why we're so prone to overeating at night. Their study in Brain Imaging and Behavior used fMRI to study how our brains responded to images of food at different times of the day. Regardless of when the study subjects saw images of high-calorie food, the scientists noted an increase in brain activity. However, this spike in activity was much lower at night. The researchers believe that this makes overeating at night more likely since it takes longer to get that "food high." Study subjects also displayed a higher preoccupation with food at night, which may make people more likely to start eating.