# hunger the morning after gorging **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 29, 2001, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-the-morning-after-gorging/70604 "2001-06-29T12:32:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kflanaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/74df32/32.png) [@kflanaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kflanaga)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2001, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-the-morning-after-gorging/70604/1 "2001-06-29T12:32:16Z")
I went to an all-you-can-eat sausage place last night. No, really, all-you-can-eat sausage. I went to sleep uncomfortable full having gorged myself for over an hour on a dozen kinds of delicious sausage. I swore that I would never put food in my mouth again. When I woke up in the morning, I was incredibly hungry (though with an odd aversion to the thought of sausage). I discussed this with others, and it was not just an isolated incident with me. Why should I be hungrier the morning after eating a large meal than another morning? All this typing has made me hungry for sausage… ---
**Author:** ![longjohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@longjohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longjohn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2001, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-the-morning-after-gorging/70604/2 "2001-06-29T12:50:57Z")
Isn’t it strange how some things can be so desperately in need of the double-entendre reply that it’s just no fun? Know what you mean about waking up hungry after eating to much, tho’. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2001, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-the-morning-after-gorging/70604/3 "2001-06-29T12:54:09Z")
Same here, the more I eat the night before the hungrier I am the morning after. ---
**Author:** ![buffalogal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@buffalogal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buffalogal)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2001, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-the-morning-after-gorging/70604/4 "2001-06-29T13:23:01Z")
I just experienced that myself, and have experienced it many times before. I just assumed it was because my stomach got stretched out and then needed more – Feed me! _Feed_ me! – to fill the emptiness. Or, you know, it gets on a roll and just can’t stop. I’m sure there’s a better, more accurate explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2001, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-the-morning-after-gorging/70604/5 "2001-06-29T13:31:00Z")
My WAG is that while you’re sleeping, you’re not moving about much and the food doesn’t pass so quickly along the digestive tract, perhaps the digestion process gets cranked up or just happens more thoroughly than usual, meaning that in the morning, you need to fill the gap. It’s easier to explain what I mean by describing the opposite scenario: maybe if you go to bed on an empty stomach, the digestive process slows down to a virtual stop. It’s my suspicion (which I admit I can’t back up with any solid evidence) that your body extracts more nutrients from food you eat before sleeping than it would during a period of activity, which in turn should mean that cheese eaten at bedtime is more fattening than cheese eaten for breakfast. (does anyone know if this is actually true?) ---
**Author:** ![Mats\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8edcca/32.png) [@Mats\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mats_K)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2001, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-the-morning-after-gorging/70604/6 "2001-06-29T13:52:18Z")
I agree with the “stretched stomach” theory, as simple as it may sound. It’s kinda like when you know you’re going to an all-you-can-eat place for dinner, and you deliberately starve yourself, thinking you’ll be able to eat about 7 cows by night-time. It seems like your stomach has shrunk, and you don’t end up eating all that much. If you snack a bit during the day, you’ll be able to eat a lot more. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2001, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-the-morning-after-gorging/70604/7 "2001-06-29T19:57:40Z")
Well, the stomach isn’t physically stretched, but the nerves that tell you when your stomach is full or empty become acclimatized to the fullness, so when the stomach empties, it feels emptier that it did before you filled it. The gut sensor isn’t like a gas gauge - it adapts. It’s the same as when you go outdoors for a walk on a bright sunny day, and then when you walk back indoors it seems darker than it was before you left. Your eyes adapted. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2001, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hunger-the-morning-after-gorging/70604/8 "2001-06-29T20:00:00Z")
PS - I really want to know where I can find that all you can eat sausage place. 😃