Relationship between Food Intake and Sleep Pattern in Healthy Individuals

Abstract

Study Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between food intake and sleep patterns in healthy individuals. Methods: Fifty-two healthy volunteers (27 women and 25 men) were recruited to participate in the study. Volunteers underwent sleep evaluation through nocturnal polysomnography and completed a 3-day food diary to evaluate food intake. Results S C I E N T I F I C I N V E S T I G A T I O N SO besity is becoming a worldwide epidemic. 1 The etiology of this disease is multifactorial; among the causes are changes in food intake, 2 life style, environment, 2,3 and genetics, 4,5 in addition to physiological 6 and psychological 7 infl uences and, more recently, alterations in sleep patterns. [8][9][10][11] Sleep curtailment has become common due to the demands and opportunities of modern society.12 Recent studies show that alterations in sleep time can infl uence various aspects associated with the nutritional and metabolic balance of the body, such as the control of body mass, 9,11 food intake, 10,13 glycemic levels, 14,15 and the levels of cholesterol and triacylglycerol. 16 Although some studies show that short duration sleep changes the food intake pattern and may cause obesity, 9-11 few studies have analyzed whether the opposite casual sequence also occurs; that is, if food intake promotes alterations in the sleep pattern. Indeed, studies that have examined this matter are controversial and use different methodologies. Some studies indicate an impairment of sleep quality when there is an excessive carbohydrate intake. 17,18 Driver et al.,19 however, comparing the effect of an evening meal on nocturnal sleep in seven healthy men, did not fi nd any effect. Therefore, this study proposes to analyze the correlation between habitual food intake and sleep patterns in healthy individuals. METHODS SampleFifty-two healthy volunteers (27 women and 25 men) between 19 and 45 years old took part in this study. The participants were young adults and were non-obese. They were sedentary and not taking medication. They were all nonsmokers and spent regular times in bed at night (7.5-8.5 h). The subjects did not suffer from sleep disturbances (apnea and hypopnea index [AHI] < 5, and periodic leg movements [PLM] during sleep were < 5, as assessed bRIEF SUMMARY Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: Few studies have analyzed if food intake promotes alterations in the sleep pattern. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the correlation between habitual food intake and sleep patterns in healthy individuals. Study Impact: This study demonstrated that a higher food intake close to the sleeping period is associated with negative aspects of sleep patterns in healthy individuals, especially in women. However, this is an area poorly explored in the literature, and more studies are necessary to elucidate the real infl uence of food intake upon sleep.

Effects of Diet on Sleep Quality

“…The noneaters slept best after consuming the inert capsules, whereas the eaters slept best after consuming the Horlicks drink, leading the authors to conclude that an individual's dietary habits primarily influence their sleep response to bedtime foods. This is supported by others (26), who showed that nocturnal food intake negatively influences sleep quality, which may be mediated by postprandial discomfort due to reduced digestive activity. It is possible that pre-bedtime food consumption, of any kind, in those who typically do not eat before bedtime negatively influences sleep.…”

“…Overall, the results of this study confirmed that diet quality, particularly closer to bedtime, influences sleep architecture. Nocturnal eating, considered in this study to be any food intake 30-60 min before bedtime, was shown to negatively influence sleep quality, with a greater effect in women than in men (26). This effect was proposed by the authors to be mediated by postprandial physical discomfort and reduced digestive activity; however, this was not confirmed.…”

“…Crispim et al (26) similarly investigated the effects of ad libitum food intake on sleep architecture. Over 3 nonconsecutive days, subjects recorded their food intake in a food diary and reported to the sleep laboratory for polysomnography.…”

Factors Affecting Sleep Quality in Firefighters

“…Other cohort and cross sectional studies have shown confirming results to those of the present study (Kleiser, Rosario, Mensink, Prinz-Langenohl, & Kurth, 2009;Seegers et al, 2011). Other studies have shown that the activity of the brain (frontal cortex) increases in response to food stimuli in people with chronic sleep deprivation (Crispim et al, 2011). There are credible evidences that support the causal relationship between sleep deprivation and weight gain.…”

Influence of mature men way of life on highly intensive physical activity

“…Human organism has to compensate this deficit from other sources and one of them can be excessive eating [9]. Besides, certain dependences between the set of consumed food products, their quality and sleep duration were determined [11,15], as well as between PA kinds and sleep quality [10].…”