Design Services Inc.

Skip to Content.

  • Home
  • About Deborah
  • Books/Music
    • Recommended Books
      • SUBJECT - Age & Gender Related Issues
      • SUBJECT - Body Brain & Emotions
      • SUBJECT - Color Light & Circadian Rhythm
      • SUBJECT - Evidence Based Design
      • SUBJECT - Epigenetic Design
      • SUBJECT - General Design & Decorating
      • SUBJECT - Health & Wellness
      • SUBJECT - Music Sound & Vibration
      • SUBJECT - Nature Feng Shui & New Age
      • SUBJECT - Retail & Hospitality
      • SUBJECT - Scent Taste & Touch
      • SUBJECT - Sleep Stress & Obesity
      • SUBJECT - Vision
    • Music for Sleep
    • Music for Stress Relief
    • Design Savvy Music
    • Great Quotes
  • Resource Links
    • Epigenetic Design Articles
      • TOPIC - Age & Gender Related Issues
      • TOPIC - What is Epigeneic Design?
      • TOPIC - Body, Brain & Emotions
      • TOPIC - Color, Light & Circadian Rhythm
      • TOPIC - Cognition Depression & Learning
      • TOPIC - Evidence Based Design
      • TOPIC - Driving at Night
      • TOPIC - Indoor Environmental Quality ( IEQ)
      • TOPIC - Music, Sound & Vibration
      • TOPIC - Nature, Feng Shui & New Age
      • TOPIC - Retail & Hospitality
      • TOPIC - Sleep, Stress & Obesity
      • TOPIC - Vision
      • TOPIC - Wayfinding & Orientation
    • Design & Construction Articles
      • Kitchen Bed & Bath
      • Around the House
      • Designing with Color & Light
      • Paint Paper & Fabrics
      • Savvy Styles & Design Trends
      • Entertaining Tips
      • How To Projects
      • Painting Paneling
      • Spruce Ups that SELL!
      • Home Design & Construction
      • 365 Design Tips
      • Design Thoughts from Deborah
      • Holiday Decorating
      • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Retail
      • Feng Shui
      • Stone Granite & Marble
    • Resource Links
      • Products & Services
      • Personal Growth
      • Media Links
  • Research
    • Citations
      • CITATIONS - Age & Gender Related Issues
      • CITATIONS - Body, Brain & Emotions
      • CITATIONS - Color, Light & Circadian Rhythm
      • CITATIONS - Cognition Depression & Learning
      • CITATIONS - Evidence Based Design
      • CITATIONS - Driving at Night
      • CITATIONS - Health & Wellness
      • CITATIONS - Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)
      • CITATIONS - Music , Sound & Vibration
      • CITATIONS - Nature, Feng Shui & New Age
      • CITATIONS - Retail & Hospitality
      • CITATIONS - Scent , Taste & Touch
      • CITATIONS - Sleep, Stress & Obesity
      • CITATIONS - Vision
    • Reference websites
  • Seminars/Workshops
    • Topics & CEU's
    • Upcoming Seminars & Workshops
    • Speaking Services & Fees
    • Introductions
    • Press Material
  • Press/Media
    • Interview Topics
    • Blog Posts for Major Magazines
    • Credentials & Bio
    • Press Releases
    • Printed Press Materials
    • In the News

Contact Us

WATCH
TV & Webcast Appearances

LISTEN
Radio & Podcast Interviews

READ
Magazine & Print Interviews

TV & Radio
Upcoming Schedule

Seminars & Events
Upcoming Schedule

Latest Edition of Deborah's
COLOR & LIGHT Newsletter

Deborah's Blog
& Journal

Coming SoonEvidence-Based Lighting Design[ more ]Evidence-based Lighting Design

TOPIC Sleep Stress & Obesity

  • Seeing is Tasting
  • Light at Night Cancer Risk of Shift Workers
  • Portion Control Plate for Weight Loss
  • The Effects of Appetitive Stimuli on Out-of-Domain Consumption Impatience
  • Role of Low Energy Expenditure and Sitting in Obesity,Metabolic Syndrome, Type 2 Diabetes, and Cardiovascular Disease
  • Disturbed Sleep Linked to Poorer Daytime Function In Older Women

  • Published 10/03/07 Science Daily
    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/07/1001081628.htm

  • Bad Chemistry: Study Links Primary Insomnia to Low Levels of a Brain Chemical

  • Published 11/01/08 SLEEP

  • Annual Medical Spending Attributable to Obesity : Payer and Service- Specific Estimates

  • Published 07/27/09 Journal of Health Affairs





  • Focusing Light on Sleep




  • By Deborah Burnett ASID CMG




























Seeing is Tasting!
a quick look into how the brain
reacts to the sight of food
Recent information has surfaced about the relationship between the mere sight of food and how this actually triggers the release of a key hormone which then makes it impossible for us to ignore the urge to eat. Dopamine, the hormone responsible for impulse control, satisfaction and pleasure, sets in motion all of the brain and bodily reactions normally associated with the anticipation of eating a good meal. When this cascade of brain events happens it makes it virtually impossible for us to stop thinking of food and thus increases the desire to eat. It’s as if the mere sight of the food tricks the brain into thinking it’s time to eat. With that said, it’s no wonder some us don’t stand a chance when it comes to the war between will power and the brain.
The research conducted at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and headed by psychiatrist Nora Volkow and first reported by journalist Lauren Gravitz, involved a group of subjects who were asked to fast for up to 20 hours and then presented with foods that they loved. The hard part of the experiment was asking the participants to only to look and smell the food in front of them, but not taste. Volkow then used PET scans to measure the activity within the subject’s brains and surprisingly discovered that the highest dopamine concentration was in the brain region normally associated with the compulsion to eat. Referring to our early human ancestors and their lack of readily available food she says “It's natural that our brains would create a mechanism to eat food when it was in front of us because it might not always be available," Volkow says. But here in the 21st century where food is available at all hours of the day and times of year, starvation is less of an issue than overeating. "The brain has not evolved as quickly as civilization, which has resulted in a maladapted response. You eat when you are not supposed to be eating," she says.
Huuummmmm no wonder fast food chains have mouth watering photographs of their calorie laden food hanging on the walls!

Deborah Burnett © copyright 2009
Deborah Burnett, ASID CMG
Design Service Inc
800-265-2992
Deborah@deborahburnett.com

Back to Top















Deborah Burnett is a nationally recognized health and wellness design authority and keynote presenter bridging the gap between science and evidence based epigenetic design which explores how the body and brain are affected by the interior environment. As a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine she specializes in research and design pertaining to how color, light, sound and daylight affect sleep.
The information contained, linked and presented on this website is not intended as specific medical advice and is not a substitute for professional medical treatment, diagnosis or intervention
Visit BenyaBurnett.com

News, Events & More

Illuminating the Future
– with Jim Benya, Jennifer Veitch and Susan Szenasyn

Knowledge to Practice: Epigenetic Design and the Built Environment
– VELUX Daylight Symposium

Evidence-Based Lighting Design, Deborah’s new book
– Wiley, Spring 2014!

Daylighting and Its Impact on Infertility
– The Daylight Project, UK Infertility Awareness Week

 
 
Copyright © 2013 Design Services, Inc. - Deborah Burnett. All Rights Reserved. Benya Burnett Consultancy