Mediterranean diet pattern and sleep duration and insomnia symptoms in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Abstract

Sleep duration and sleep quality are important predictors of risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). One potential link between sleep health and CVD is through lifestyle factors such as diet. To clarify the association between diet and sleep, we assessed the associations of sleep duration and insomnia symptoms with current Mediterranean-style diet (aMed) and with historical changes in aMed score. Actigraphy-measured sleep duration and self-reported insomnia symptoms categorized as insomnia with short sleep (<6 hr/night), insomnia without short sleep, no insomnia with short sleep, and no insomnia or short sleep were obtained from 2068 individuals who also had dietary intake data. A 10-point aMed score, derived from a self-report food frequency questionnaire, was collected concurrently with the sleep assessment and 10 years before. Compared with individuals who currently reported a low aMed score, those with a moderate-high aMed score were more likely to sleep 6-7 vs. <6 hr/night (p < 0.01) and less likely to report insomnia symptoms occurring with short sleep (vs. no insomnia or short sleep alone; p < 0.05). An increase in aMed score over the preceding 10 years was not associated with sleep duration or insomnia symptoms. However, compared with those with decreasing aMed score, individuals with an unchanging score reported fewer insomnia symptoms (p ≤ 0.01). These results suggest that a Mediterranean-style diet is associated with adequate sleep duration, less insomnia symptoms, and less likely to have insomnia accompanied by short sleep. Further research should identify possible mediators through which diet may promote adequate sleep duration and reduce the risk of insomnia.

A Mediterranean Dietary Pattern Predicts Better Sleep Quality in US Women from the American Heart Association Go Red for Women Strategically Focused Research Network

“…Findings of the current investigation provide an important extension to that study by corroborating this relation in US individuals, whose habitual dietary patterns are distinct from Europeans, as reflected by different measures of the Mediterranean diet tailored for use in the respective populations (MEDAS vs. aMed). Our findings are also consistent with those of the only other study conducted in a US population, which showed that greater compliance with an aMed diet predicted lower risk for insomnia in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis [21]. The current study, however, provides unique insight beyond that of any previous investigation by identifying specific components of sleep quality to which this Mediterranean diet-sleep relation extends, including higher sleep efficiency and fewer sleep disturbances.…”

“…It is unclear if these findings would extend to US populations, given differential patterns of health behaviors and exposure to distinct psychosocial, environmental, and structural influences on health across cultures. To our knowledge, only one analysis, within the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, evaluated the aMed diet in relation to sleep in US adults [21]. Although results showed that this diet pattern predicted lower odds of insomnia and short sleep, associations with measures of general sleep quality were not evaluated.…”

Diet, Stress and Mental Health

“…In addition to depression, recent studies suggested a relationship between sleep duration and Mediterranean Diet. In the MESA Sleep ancillary study, a higher adherence to a Mediterranean-type diet was associated with a 43% greater likelihood of achieving 6–7 h of sleep per night compared to 6 h [ 81 ]. Data from the Seniors-ENRICA and Hellenic Longitudinal studies also found a lower likelihood of poor sleep quality for those who were following a Mediterranean diet [ 82 , 83 ].…”

Dietary Patterns in Relation to Prospective Sleep Duration and Timing among Mexico City Adolescents

“…Dietary patterns can refer to those defined a priori through a validated score or defined a posteriori through data-driven methods. Higher adherence to a Mediterranean diet pattern, a validated score, associated with fewer insomnia symptoms in a diverse US population [ 17 ] and healthier dietary patterns (identified through data-driven methods) associated with better sleep quality over time in peri-menopausal Mexican women [ 18 ].…”