Link between sleep and weight gain

Could lack of sleep cause you to gain weight? Think about it.. if you don't have much energy, you grab some coffee or snacks to give you a boost. The immediate result? You may be able to fight off sleepiness. The ultimate result? Unwanted pounds of poor food choices and lack of exercise that might further lead to obesity. Its not so much that if you sleep, you will lose weight, but if you are sleep deprived, your metabolism will not function properly. The two hormones that are key in this process are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the "go" hormone that tells you when to eat, and when you are sleep deprived, you have more ghrelin. Leptin is the hormone that tells you to stop eating, and when you are sleep deprived, you have less leptin. More ghrelin plus less leptin equals weight gain.