Can’t Sleep? Check Your Diet!

Can’t Sleep? Check Your Diet!

Inadequate and poor quality sleep can contribute to the development of chronic disorders such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. What we need is sufficient and uninterrupted time in slow-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement sleep (REM). During slow-wave sleep, the pituitary gland produces growth hormone which increases during deep sleep. This hormone enhances protein synthesis and fat-burning metabolism. Inadequate slow-wave sleep can lead to impaired learning, reduced tissue repair, and compromised immunity. Rapid eye movement sleep is also important for memory and learning. Additionally, REM sleep influences mood and helps in emotional processing. REM and SWS help to consolidate memory. What we eat impacts the quality of our sleep.

Check Your Carbs

Sugar hurts the quality of your sleep. Greater sugar intake is associated with more arousals from sleep (sleep fragmentation). Eating less fiber, more saturated fat, and more sugar has been linked to lighter, less restorative, and more disrupted sleep. A higher percentage of energy from saturated fat predicted less slow-wave sleep. In contrast, greater fiber intake predicted more time spent in the stage of deep, slow-wave sleep. ¹

Another study linked consumption of high fiber foods to more slow-wave sleep and less time spent in shallow sleep. The same study showed that a greater intake of calories from saturated fat was associated with less time spent in slow-wave sleep. Additionally, greater sugar and non-sugar refined carbohydrate intakes were associated with more wake bouts during the sleep episode. These associations in this study also indicate that higher saturated fat and lower fiber intakes may produce less SWS, more nighttime arousals, and a reduction in overall sleep quality.²

A Japanese study found that poor sleepers with the highest carbohydrate intake consumed more confectionary and noodles than rice compared to good sleepers with a similarly high carbohydrate intake. The same study showed consumption of vegetables and fish was linked to better sleep.³

Nocturnal Sleep Thieves

Caffeine, found in coffee and tea, binds to adenosine receptors that promote drowsiness, thereby keeping us awake. In adults, caffeine intakes above 100 mg have been reported to cause prolonged sleep latency (time it takes to fall asleep once a person lies down) and shortened sleep duration.⁴ Caffeine also stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. An overactive sympathetic system is not conducive to sleep.

Women, Check Your Protein

The amount of protein a woman eats can affect her sleep. Low protein intake (<16% of energy from protein) has been linked to poor quality of sleep. High protein intake (>19% of energy from protein) was associated with difficulty maintaining sleep.^5,6

Regularity Counts

Skipping breakfast and eating irregularly has been strongly associated with poor sleep quality.^7,8 An increase in the size of evening meals due to skipping breakfast may decrease sleep quality.⁹

Slash the Salt

Frequent urination at night (nocturia) is a real problem for people over sixty. Reducing salt intake helps nocturia.¹⁰

Dietary Sleep Aids

Tart cherries may help insomnia. The consumption of 8 ounces of tart cherry juice in the morning and nighttime, for two weeks, have been linked to a significant reduction in insomnia severity in adults with chronic insomnia.¹¹

The consumption of two kiwifruits one hour before bedtime appears to enhance the sleep of individuals with self-reported sleep disorders. Kiwifruit is one of the few fruits that has a high serotonin concentration.¹²

Foods impacting the availability of tryptophan, as well as the synthesis of serotonin and melatonin, may be the most helpful in promoting sleep.¹³ Seaweed, spinach and other greens, pumpkin, asparagus, black-eyed peas, and kidney beans are good sources of the amino acid tryptophan, the precursor to serotonin and melatonin. Melatonin is found in bananas, cherries, oats, corn, rice, and ginger. Eating tryptophan is one step, but once inside the body, tryptophan needs to enter the brain. A high protein diet may decrease tryptophan’s ability to get into the brain.

A recent study in rats shows that prebiotic fibers may help to protect beneficial gut bacteria and restore healthy sleep patterns after a stressful event.¹⁴ Prebiotics come from certain fibers that help friendly gut bacteria. They are not probiotics. Where do you find prebiotics? Legumes, oats, berries, Jerusalem artichokes, asparagus, garlic, leeks, onion, and chicory are rich in prebiotic fiber.

How You Sleep Impacts Your Diet Too

Even in seemingly healthy adults, insufficient sleep has been associated with higher fast food consumption, lower vegetable intake, and lower physical activity, especially in men.¹⁵ Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep loss leads to increased consumption of sugar and unhealthy fat.¹⁶ The less you sleep, the more you eat!¹⁷ This is true for children and teenagers. Well-rested teenagers tend to make more healthful food choices than those who get inadequate sleep.¹⁸ People who go to bed late and sleep late eat more calories in the evening, more fast food, fewer fruits and vegetables, and weigh more than people who go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier.¹⁹

The information in the article is general and informative. If you have serious insomnia, please consult with a sleep specialist.

1. Amer Acad of Sleep Medicine. Studies show that sleep fragmentation significantly increases the risk of coronary artery disease even after other possible confounding factors are adjusted. European Society of Cardiology[↩]
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14. Frontiers. “Prebiotics may help to cope with stress: Prebiotic fibers can help to protect beneficial gut bacteria and restore healthy sleep patterns after a stressful event.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 February 2017. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170210130951.htm[↩]
15. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “Late sleep timing linked to poorer diet quality, lower physical activity: Later sleep timing is associated with higher fast food intake as well as lower vegetable intake, physical activity.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 June 2016. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/06/160608174254.htm[↩]
16. University of Tsukuba. “Direct link between REM sleep loss, desire for sugary and fatty foods discovered.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 December 2016. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161206110327.htm[↩]
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