Skip to main content

HEALTHY DIET MAY IMPROVE SLEEP QUALITY


A diet low in fiber and high in saturated fat and sugar is associated with lighter, less restorative sleep with more arousals, a new study has found. The researchers suggest that adjusting diet to include more fiber and less saturated fat and sugar may be useful in the management of sleep disorders.
"Our message is that a diet high in fiber and low in saturated fat and sugar is associated with better sleep patterns. For a good night's sleep we recommend increasing fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and eating less processed foods. That is a healthy diet in many other ways too particularly in terms of cardiovascular risk, so this is another reason to eat the right things."
The researchers did not study the mechanism behind these effects, but Dr St-Onge suggested that it could involve effects on circadian systems. "High carbohydrate intake delays circadian rhythms and reduces melatonin secretion, which would delay sleep onset. Hormones also come into play, as there is a heightened awareness of the reward value of food when sleep restricted. And when we are tired our decision making is not so disciplined, so we are more likely to give in to temptation to eat unhealthy food," she said.
The researchers acknowledge that further studies are needed to confirm their results. But if diet is found to play a causal role in sleep quality, then diet-based recommendations may be warranted for those who have sleep disorders, including insomnia, short sleep duration, and poor overall sleep quality.
"Increasing our understanding of the impact of dietary intake on nocturnal sleep will have many important and practical ramifications for public health," they conclude.
REFERENCE: DR SUE HUDGES, MEDSCAPE

Comments

  1. Diet is very helpful for improving your sleep but the another way to cure sleeplessness problem is herbal supplements for insomnia. This will to relax your mind and help in deep sleep.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dressing for Others: Lawrence of Arabia’s Sartorial Statements

Left: T. E. Lawrence; Right: Peter O’Toole in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) In the southwest Jordanian desert, among the sandstone mountains of Wadi Rum, there is a face carved into a rock. The broad cheeks and wide chin are framed by a Bedouin kuffiyeh headdress and ‘iqal, and beneath the carving, in Arabic, are the words: “Lawrence The Arab 1917.” If you are visiting Wadi Rum with a tour guide, you can expect to be brought to this carving. You may also be shown a spring where Lawrence allegedly bathed, as well as a mountain named after his autobiography, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom, whose rock face has been weathered into a shape that does, from some angles, look a little like a series of pillars. I am familiar with the legend of T.E. Lawrence—fluent Arabist, British hero of the Arab Revolt of 1916, troubled lover of the Arab peoples—as well as with the ways the Jordanian tourism industry has capitalized on this legend. Nevertheless, I am still surprised when I hear someone mentio...

23 Notable Kiswahili Novels

Kiswahili is spoken widely in Eastern Africa and parts of Central Africa. The language has morphed into different dialects spoken in these countries and is well documented in a rich literary tradition. Even though this collection centers on 20th century fiction, the Kiswahili literary tradition spans various genres and time periods. Swahili novels known as […] from Brittle Paper https://ift.tt/2TFnCfP

The Beautiful Faraway: Why I’m Grateful for My Soviet Childhood

At 10 I wanted to be an artist, practiced a hysterical form of Christianity, talked to trees, and turned a sunset at a local park into a visionary experience. My great-aunt lured me to Evangelical Christianity with the strangeness of Gospel stories where Jesus always ended up angry at his disciples’ failure to understand. I sympathized with being misunderstood, and latched on. Besides, Christianity was a forbidden fruit in Soviet Russia so I had to worship in secret. This was unnerving but also alluring. I was a breathless romantic who wanted to be surprised by a knight on a white horse. From the early ‘80s to the early ‘90s, my childhood was formed by the images, atmosphere, and allusiveness of Soviet songs. I grew up in an artistic family where emotions flew high. I was the kind of imaginative child who could spin an entire tale from an oblong stain on the kitchen table. But there’s more to it than that. My family was not always idealistic or romantic, especially not in New York in...