Elsevier

Advances in Nutrition

Volume 7, Issue 5, September 2016, Pages 938-949
Advances in Nutrition

Effects of Diet on Sleep Quality

https://doi.org/10.3945/an.116.012336Get rights and content
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Abstract

There is much emerging information surrounding the impact of sleep duration and quality on food choice and consumption in both children and adults. However, less attention has been paid to the effects of dietary patterns and specific foods on nighttime sleep. Early studies have shown that certain dietary patterns may affect not only daytime alertness but also nighttime sleep. In this review, we surveyed the literature to describe the role of food consumption on sleep. Research has focused on the effects of mixed meal patterns, such as high-carbohydrate plus low-fat or low-carbohydrate diets, over the short term on sleep. Such studies highlight a potential effect of macronutrient intakes on sleep variables, particularly alterations in slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement sleep with changes in carbohydrate and fat intakes. Other studies instead examined the intake of specific foods, consumed at a fixed time relative to sleep, on sleep architecture and quality. Those foods, specifically milk, fatty fish, tart cherry juice, and kiwifruit, are reviewed here. Studies provide some evidence for a role of certain dietary patterns and foods in the promotion of high-quality sleep, but more studies are necessary to confirm those preliminary findings.

diet
cherry
kiwi
dairy
carbohydrate
glycemic index
sleep
REM

Abbreviations used

GI
glycemic index
HC
high carbohydrate
HF
high fat
LC
low carbohydrate
LCNAA
large-chain neutral amino acid
LF
low fat
NREM
nonrapid eye movement
REM
rapid eye movement
SE
sleep efficiency
SOL
sleep-onset latency
SWS
slow wave sleep
TST
total sleep time
WASO
wake after sleep onset

Cited by (0)

Supported in part by Columbia University R56HL119945 (M-PS-O) and New York Obesity Research Center grant P30DK26687.

Author disclosures: M-P St-Onge, A Mikic, and CE Pietrolungo, no conflicts of interest.