Research Our diet determines how well we sleep

Do you sleep badly? Then maybe you should change your diet
Some people have serious problems falling asleep at night. Often such sleep problems are associated with stress in everyday life. But scientists at Columbia University Medical Center now claim that bad sleep may be significantly related to our diet.

Sufficient sleep is important for our health. But why is it when people always sleep too little and badly? Physicians now found in a study that our food consumption could have a major impact on our sleep quality. The researchers published the results of their current research in the journal "Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine".

Our sleep quality is significantly influenced by the intake of food. (Image: Andrey Popov / fotolia.com)

The quality of the diet affects our sleep quality
A recent study confirms what several previous studies had already suggested. Our sleep quality depends on the foods we consume regularly. American scientists at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York found that certain foods such as whole grains and fiber-rich foods promote healthy sleep. People who often consume fiber spend more time in deep sleep, say the doctors. When a high percentage of our energy is derived from saturated fat, deep sleep is not high quality. Our most important finding was that the quality of the diet affects our sleep quality, emphasizes Dr. med. Marie-Pierre St-Onge. It was very surprising that a single day of increased fat intake was sufficient to affect sleep parameters.

Healthy diet and regular exercise help with sleep problems
The current study underscores the fact that nutrition and sleep are part of a healthy lifestyle, explained the doctor. Nathaniel Watson. For optimal health, it is important to promote positive lifestyle choices and healthy sleep. For example, we should follow a nutritious healthy diet and exercise regularly, added the president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. The study also found that participants quickly fell asleep when they received prepared meals from a nutritionist. These contained less saturated fat and a higher protein content than the self-chosen food, explained the American scientists. It took an average of about 29 minutes for subjects to fall asleep after consuming food and drink of their choice. However, it took only seventeen minutes for the subjects to consume controlled meals from nutritionists, the researchers report.

Healthy sleep protects against many diseases
The finding that diet can affect our sleep has enormous health implications, given the increasing recognition of the role of sleep in the development of chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart and circulatory disease, Dr. St-Onge. The study examined 26 subjects who had a normal weight and an average age of 35 years. The subjects spent five nights in a sleep lab. During this time, they spent nine hours a day in bed. The subjects slept an average of seven hours and 35 minutes per night. According to the authors of the study, dietary recommendations could be used to improve sleep in patients with poor sleep quality. However, further studies are needed to accurately assess the relationship between food and sleep, the experts said. (As)