Eating more of these foods could strengthen the quality of your sleep, new research say

Most people try to follow a nutritious diet so that they feel alert and healthy during the day. But a new study shows that Eat more fruits and vegetables can lead to Advantages while you sleep too.

The study, published on June 11 in Sleep healthnoted that the participants saw a 16% improvement in sleep quality when they have increased their intake of fruits and vegetables from zero to Five cups a day.

In fact, the improvements were quite immediate – the consumption of fruits and vegetables Less sleep fragmented the following night, The study revealed.

The results indicate that simple food changes could help you rest easily at night and allow people to Focus on things to do better sleep, rather than things not to do, The author of the study Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PHD, professor of nutritional medicine and director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep and Circadian Research at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center, declared Health.

“We often make recommendations to things to avoid for healthy sleep – do not drink caffeine too late, do not drink too much alcohol,” said St -Onge Health. “It’s good to know that There are foods that will lead to a better sleep. »»

To study how daily eating habits could affect sleep, St-Onge and other researchers recruited 34 participants aged 20 to 49, the majority of whom were men. To start, all participants were healthy and had no history of sleep problems.

The study included two six -week phases, with a month between each. The research team asked the participants of Record all foods and drinks They consumed over several 24 -hour periods, and also followed their sleep with the wrist activraphy (a smartwatch-esque instructor).

At the end of the study, the researchers looked for links between the diet of the participants and their quality of sleep. More specifically, they examined fragmented sleep, or the number of times that the participants woke up throughout the night, said St-Onge.

The data showed that:

• Greatest daytime consumption of fruits and vegetables was associated with Less disturbed sleep
• Biggest Carbohydrates and fiber consumption was linked to Better sleep quality
• Biggest Consumption of red and transformed meat was associated with Worse sleep

In particular, going from zero to five daily cups of fruits and vegetables was linked to an improved quality of sleep of 16%.

Interestingly, added sugar was not linked to the quality of sleep, indicating that “Carbohydrates and fruits of fruits and vegetables most likely contribute For better the quality of sleep, ”wrote the authors of the study.

Essentially, this means that a person’s daily eating habits can directly influence the way they sleep at night, said Brannon Blount, MS, RDN, recorded dietitian based in Virginia.

“Although we often consider sleep and diet as distinct well-being objectives, this research links both significantly,” she said Health.

This is certainly not the first study to study the link between food and sleep, experts agreed.

Previous research has shown that people who follow Mediterranean diet or other healthy food plans also have one Lower risk of insomnia and sleep disorders, Explained St-Onge. And in 2016, his team found that a higher Fiber consumption was associated with deeper sleep, While more carbohydrates and added sugars were linked to an increasingly disturbed sleep.

The research published in 2021 also revealed that women who added More portions of fruits and vegetables At their diet, experienced the symptoms of insomnia and better sleep quality, and took less time to fall asleep.

This study indicates that What you eat during the day can have a direct effect on your sleep the following night—It is the most important conclusion, Erica Jansen, PHD, MPH, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at the School of Public of the University of Michigan, said Health.

This specificity is “different from most observation studies, which often look at how people usually eat with the way they usually sleep,” said Jansen.

There are, of course, possible warnings. People tend to Eat more food when they are tired, On the one hand, sleep could therefore influence the diet, not the other way around. “You tend to choose higher foods and higher sugar foods because the lack of sleep deforms your perceptions of taste,” said St-Onge.

It is also true that people who eat nutritious are more likely to lead healthier lifestyles in general – they can Do the exercise more frequently, which leads to better sleep. However, this was taken into account for this study, said St-Onge.

“We can adapt to all these factors, and even when we do it, we see that it is in fact the healthy diet that is associated with better sleep,” she said.

However, St-Ong has recognized that there were still many questions to answer, including what The real mechanism could be Behind the impact of sleep on sleep.

For the moment, the most supported theory is that carbohydrates can increase The absorption of the brain of food tryptophan. “This is an amino acid that is converted into serotonin then melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep,” said Blount.

Fruits and vegetables are also rich in fiber, vitamins and antioxidants, which promote better brain, hormonal and intestinal health, added Jansen and Blount. This could, in turn, support a better sleep.

The task of obtaining enough fruits and vegetables in your diet can be overwhelming, said St-Onge. But small changes simplify the task.

It can actually be quite easy to add one or two cups of vegetables to your meals: try to have a side salad with your meal, Or throw a little spinach in your soup or pasta, She recommended.

St-Onge said she always had a plate of raw vegetables on the table to snack, Also.

It is also important to focus on addition More vegetables and fruits to your diet, rather than excluding Other less nutritious foods have added Sheri Gaw, RDN, a dietitian recorded at El Camino Hospital Cardiac and Pulmonary Wellness Center.

“Try to include a fruit or a vegetable with each meal or snack,” said Gaw Health. “You can see that you have less desire for food with less food.”

Another way to make your task easier? Fruits and vegetables are always healthy even if they are not freshly prepared. “The frozen, canned, pre-lavee and pre-cut options all have And can help you get closer to this objective of five cups without much time or additional effort, “said Blount.

At the end of the day, the incorporation of fruits and vegetables Find a method that suits you best, said Jansen.

“There is no need to have focused on special food promoting sleep”, ” She said. “Eating a banana at breakfast or packing a baby carrot bag at lunch can be an easy way to start integrating more into your daily routine.”