Curiosity Daily

Sports Fans’ Brains, Hunger After Overeating, the IKEA Effect

Episode Summary

Learn about how rival sports fans see games differently; waking up hungry after overeating; and “some assembly required.”  Today’s stories originally ran in the following episodes of Curiosity Daily: Rival Sports Fans Experience the Same Game Completely Differently by Reuben Westmaas originally published November 22, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/rival-sports-fans-experience-games-completely-diff  Why do I wake up hungry after overeating? by Ashley Hamer originally published November 29, 2019 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/history-s-extravagant-gifts-w-justin-jampol-why-yo  To Give a Gift They'll Treasure, Go With "Some Assembly Required" by Ashley Hamer originally published November 23, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/gifts-requiring-assembly-are-more-treasured-why-yo  Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day withCody Gough andAshley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.

Episode Notes

Learn about how rival sports fans see games differently; waking up hungry after overeating; and “some assembly required.”

Today’s stories originally ran in the following episodes of Curiosity Daily:

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.

 

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/sports-fans-brains-hunger-after-overeating-the-ikea-effect

Episode Transcription

CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Discovery. I’m Cody Gough.

ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about how rival sports fans experience the same game completely differently; why you wake up hungry after overeating; and why it’s a good idea to give a gift with “some assembly required.” We hand-picked these holiday-themed stories from the last few years to celebrate Thanksgiving, which is today in the US — AND we remastered them, just for you.

CODY: And of course, stick around for a brand-new recap segment at the end of today’s episode to hear our fresh takes on all of today’s stories. But right now? Let’s satisfy some curiosity.

RECAP

Hey, we’re back in 2021! Let’s do a quick recap of what we learned today

  1. ASHLEY: Rival sports fans experience the same game completely differently. Researchers had fans of Manchester United and Chelsea watch a game while their brains were scanned in an MRI machine. Their visual perception all matched up pretty closely. But the activity in the frontal and subcortical regions was virtually opposite between the fans of the rival teams! Those are associated with reward, identity, and movement control. And this is an important lesson in how group dynamics and in-group bias forms in the brain.
  2. CODY: It’s normal to wake up hungrier than usual the night after overeating. That’s because when you eat a ton of food, your blood sugar spikes higher than usual, which means your pancreas pumps out more insulin to process it. All that sugar goes into your cells and drops your glucose levels and you get a sugar crash — and that sugar crash is way more pronounced overnight. To avoid this, go heavy on the protein and lighter on the carbs during dinner. And consider a 15-minute walk about 15 minutes after dinner. That light to moderate exercise can help level out your blood sugar levels. Bon appetit!
  3. ASHLEY: According to research, people value an item more if they put it together themselves. This is known as the IKEA effect. And it also explains why you might like your jack-o-lantern more if you picked your own pumpkin at the pumpkin patch, or why you might be more attached to a Christmas tree if you cut it down yourself. And do I need to even mention LEGO projects? I rest my case.

[ad lib optional] 

CODY: Today’s writers were Reuben Westmaas and Ashley Hamer, who’s also our managing editor.

ASHLEY: Our producer and audio editor is Cody Gough.

CODY: [AD LIB SOMETHING FUNNY] Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes.

ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!