It's Friday night, you're three drinks in, and suddenly the fast food meals you'd never consider edible during the day are exactly what you're craving at 2:00 a.m. Ah, the drunchies. Aside from the obviously lowered inhibitions, what weird switch is getting flipped here?
Well, first things first: You're not imagining it. As this new video from DNews explains, researchers have found that we tend to consume more calories after binge drinking than we do without alcohol — even if we're not eating a larger overall amount of food.
But considering how many calories your average drink contains, there's no obvious reason for your body to want more of them (especially in the form of a quesalupa).
The current theory is that it's down to the way alcohol affects two of your brain's neurotransmitter systems. These two networks, made up of opioid and dopamine receptors, are heavily involved in creating the rewarding feelings we get from eating palatable foods (e.g. chocolate, burgers, pizza). And alcohol has a huge effect on both systems. The end result is that you just want to eat more sugary and carb-full foods.
Check out the video below to learn more about the neural mechanisms behind your drunchies. No judgments here: Just try to steer clear of the greasiest meals if you want to actually get a good night's sleep.
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