20 Jan Poor Diet Means Poor Sleep

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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Marie St-Onge

Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Ph.D, FAHA
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center
Institute of Human Nutrition
College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University
New York, NY 10032  

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. St-Onge: We have shown that sleep affects food intake: restricting sleep increases energy intake, particularly from fat (others also find increased sugar intake).  We wanted to know if the reverse was also true: does diet affect sleep at night?

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. St-Onge: Diet quality can play an important role in sleep quality.  Sleep can be affect after only a single day of poor dietary intakes (high saturated fat and low fiber intakes).  It is possible that improving one’s diet can also improve their sleep.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. St-Onge: It would be important to test this in a population of adults with poor sleep quality and to determine the long-term effects of diet on sleep quality.

Medical Research: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Dr. St-Onge: The influence of diet and sleep on each other may be like a vicious cycle whereby poor sleep leads to overconsumption of energy-dense foods high in fat and sugar and low in fiber and other important nutrients.  This, in turn, can lead to poor sleep which only serves to perpetuate this cycle of poor diet and poor sleep.

Citation:

St-Onge MP, Roberts A, Shechter A, Choudhury AR. Fiber and saturated fat are associated with sleep arousals and slow wave sleep. J Clin Sleep Med, 2016;12(1):19%u201324. DOI: 5664/jcsm.5384

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More on Sleep on MedicalResearch.com

Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Ph.D, FAHA (2016). Poor Diet Means Poor Sleep 

Last Updated on January 20, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD