A simple dietary strategy for better sleep can produce noticeable improvements right away.
Insomnia is a common problem, as approximately 10 percent of the adult population has it. People who sleep poorly and experience the chronic fatigue it brings know the detrimental effects it has on their daily lives, including reduced work productivity, troubled relationships, and low mood. Consequently, they long for a remedy that will work quickly.
A recent clinical trial found an important tool for improving sleep that may have been previously overlooked—eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. While earlier research has shown an association between eating these foods and quality sleep, the new study indicated a link between a day’s dietary choices and the quality of sleep that very night.
Diet Affects Sleep Quickly
In the clinical trial published in Sleep Health, U.S. researchers explored the influence of diet in adults who averaged between 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. The participants reported their daily food consumption and wore a wrist monitor that permitted objective measurements of sleep quality.
The results showed that each day’s diet correlated with meaningful differences in that night’s rest. Eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains was linked to deeper, less interrupted sleep. Higher magnesium intake was associated with fewer sleep disruptions.
Eating the recommended five cups of fruits and vegetables per day resulted in 16 percent better sleep quality compared with eating none. For example, one cup of fruit is about equal to a medium orange, apple, or potato.
“Dietary modifications could be a new, natural and cost-effective approach to achieve better sleep,” said co-senior author Dr. Esra Tasali, director of the UChicago Sleep Center, in a press statement. “Sixteen percent is a highly significant difference. It’s remarkable that such a meaningful change could be observed within less than 24 hours.”
The participants in the clinical trial slept well prior to the experiment. However, how would the dietary interventions work in people who have poor-quality sleep?
“Generally, when sleep is already good, it’s difficult to make it better. In this case, we saw improvements even in that context,” said corresponding author Marie-Pierre St-Onge, a professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City.
By Mary West
