Influence of Dietary Intake on Sleeping Patterns of Medical Students

Abstract

Introduction The aim of the study was to explore the association between the intake of specific food substances and the sleeping patterns of medical students. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 440 medical students, aged 18-24 years, chosen through non-probability consecutive sampling from Karachi, Pakistan. The Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) was used to measure sleep quality and a self-made questionnaire that categorized foods according to their nutritional constitutions was used to measure the frequency of food consumption. Associations were evaluated using the chi-square test with the level of significance taken as p < 0.05 and strength of significance determined using Cramer’s V. logistic regression to predict good sleep quality. Results Significant associations were found with soybeans, whole grains, processed meats, leafy greens, dark chocolate, spices, dairy products, products high in fat and sugar, lima beans, and carbohydrates in relation to sleep quality, with soybeans exhibiting a particularly stronger relationship. The odds of good sleep quality were 2.5 times more likely with soybean intake, 3.26 times more likely with carbohydrates, and 6.57 times more likely with lima beans. Intake of papayas was associated with reduced sleep quality. Conclusion Intake of certain food substances has a significant association with sleep quality. Clinical trials focusing on the nutritional basis of these associations can lead to a new integrated focus on functional foods to combat poor sleep and sleep-related diseases.

Poor sleep quality among young adults: The role of anxiety, depression, musculoskeletal pain, and low dietary calcium intake

“…A moderately strong association between the intake of dairy products, which are rich in both calcium and tryptophan, and sleep quality has previously been reported. Calcium helps the brain utilize tryptophan in the synthesis of melatonin, which improves sleep quality 41 . In one study, the supplementation of multivitamin combinations with calcium, magnesium, and zinc alleviated anxiety and perceived stress among 80 healthy male volunteers 42 .…”

“…Calcium helps the brain utilize tryptophan in the synthesis of melatonin, which improves sleep quality. 41 In one study, the supplementation of multivitamin combinations with calcium, magnesium, and zinc alleviated anxiety and perceived stress among 80 healthy male volunteers. 42 Similarly, higher intake of dairy products (including milk) has been found to reduce the risk of depression.…”

High prevalence of low dairy calcium intake and association with insomnia, anxiety, depression and musculoskeletal pain in university students from Jordan

“…There is evidence to suggest that increased dietary Ca intake, which is mainly obtained from dairy products (6) , is associated with improved quality of sleep and reduced insomnia (7,8) . Total plasma Ca was found to be directly related to sleep as a diurnal variation in its concentration was detected during normal sleep (9) .…”

“…In addition, brain Ca is proposed to have a role in regulating the duration of sleep in mammals (10) . The effect of dairy products on sleep could also be due to their content of tryptophan, (11) as Ca is involved in producing melatonin, the sleep-inducing neurosecretory hormone, from tryptophan in the brain (8) .…”

Consistent sleep onset and maintenance of body weight after weight loss: An analysis of data from the NoHoW trial

“…While we found no studies directly confirming these associations, both low and high sleep duration have been linked to higher levels of HbA1c at a cross-sectional level [ 44 ], and prolonged sleep onset latency, insomnia, and shift work have been found to increase the odds of hypertension [ 45 – 47 ]. Likewise, we found no studies examining the association between time of sleep onset and ΔTG, but as intake of dietary fat has been found to be associated both with different elements of sleep [ 43 , 48 ] and ΔTG [ 49 ], this association may be caused by dietary intake. However, due to the exploratory nature of these analyses, we did not adjust for multiple testing, and thus these results should be interpreted with caution due to the risk of type I errors.…”