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Diet and Your Sleep Quality

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Man in pajamas having breakfast in bed

The average person spends a lot of time (about 30 percent of their life) sleeping. As crazy as that may seem, the third of our time we spend resting at night is incredibly important to making sure we are healthy and happy during our time spent awake. But in the same way, all of the habits and activities we engage in during the day inevitably have a big impact on how we sleep.

Some habits can be detrimental to our sleep quality and in some cases may induce insomnia or raise blood pressure, like drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, using nicotine, or ingesting caffeine late in the day. Others, like exercise and meditation, have been shown to increase sleep quality and duration.

The big picture answer is that diet does in fact play a role. Studies show that a person’s diet impacts how they sleep in a number of ways. This is likely due to the fact that what we eat directly affects important systems related to our sleep, such as brain chemistry, circulatory systems, and overall weight.

And what about popular beliefs about eating habits that harm or help sleep, like drinking milk or avoiding meals before bed? Read on to learn more about how changed to your diet can improve, or degrade, the quality of your sleep.

How diet affects sleep

Diet influences our nights the same way most other behaviors do: by causing changes to the circadian rhythm and the sleep cycle. The circadian rhythm is the body’s internal clock. An entire part of your brain is dedicated to keeping this clock running, always working to adjust our sleep-wake cycle according to external stimuli like light or sound. Some foods affect the circadian rhythm by triggering the production of chemicals in the brain that encourage or discourage sleep. Most foods that promote better sleep work in this way.

There are two main phases of the cycle: one in which your mind is more active, known as Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, and a deeper sleep known as Non-REM sleep. Certain dietary habits can interrupt sleep by causing intense digestion or excess weight gain, which disrupts this cycle.

Foods that can promote sleep

Luckily for anyone interested in making changes to their eating habits to improve their sleep, studies show that a well-balanced diet is generally a good first step. A healthy diet can improve your night in two major ways: by promoting the synthesis of compounds that can improve the quality of your slumber, and by limiting the intake of foods that can interrupt it. Three chemicals, each playing a big role in the process, are significantly affected by diet:

  • Serotonin: Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate the circadian rhythm and sleep. Scientists are still working to understand all the complexities of the roles it plays, which include stimulating both wakefulness and arousal. One scientific review of over 50 years of serotonin research explains that serotonin is involved in starting, moderating, and ending these cycles.
  • Melatonin: Melatonin is a hormone that plays an important part in regulating the circadian rhythm and promoting a restful night. Evening darkness stimulates the body to produce melatonin, which continues to build up in the brain through the night. Melatonin works in part by lowering core body temperature.
  • Tryptophan: Tryptophan is a protein hormone that is the single precursor to serotonin. That means that in order to make serotonin, the body needs tryptophan. While the hormone can be produced internally, the body can also use tryptophan that is consumed in foods we eat.

Healthy Complete Breakfast served in bedSeveral foods can increase the natural production of these compounds or introduce more for the body to use. While all foods should be consumed in moderation, a 2016 scientific review found that including or substituting the following items into your diet can stimulate your body to produce the compounds it needs for a good night’s sleep:

  • Milk: Milk products contain natural tryptophan. Several studies found that drinking a glass of milk or malted beverage before bed reduced awakenings, increased sleep time and promoted higher quality sleep.
  • Kiwis/Tart Cherries: Cherries contain melatonin and kiwis contain serotonin, among other nutrients. Studies show that people who regularly consumed these fruits had less trouble going to and staying asleep, along with an overall better quality during the night. Note, however, that too much sugar could play a negative role.
  • Whole Grains: Whole grains found in whole-wheat toast and oatmeal can trigger the production of serotonin. Johns Hopkins Medicine says that eating complex carbohydrates before bed can increase serotonin levels without burdening the digestive system late at night.

Diet habits that can degrade sleep quality

poor diet of junk food can lead to bad quality of sleep

Scientists say that a sleep-promoting diet is more about having a balanced diet than eating or avoiding specific foods. That is, diets that are unbalanced in favor of a specific food group, especially if those foods are known to be unhealthy for other reasons, are likely to have detrimental effects on sleep health. High fat, carbohydrate and protein diets, in particular, have been shown to have adverse effects on sleep health. And importantly, they all influence sleep in different ways, suggesting again that a balanced diet is important for quality sleep.

  • High-carbohydrate diet: Diets high in carbohydrates were correlated with less short-wave sleep. This type of deep sleep is part of the Non-REM phase. High carbohydrate diets do tend to improve REM when the brain needs more immediate energy for higher brain activity. But Non-REM is critical for the body to recuperate from the day, build muscle and bone, and boost the immune system.
  • High-fat diet: High-fat diets have an effect almost inverse to high carbohydrate diets. Diets with high fat reduce REM and increase the number of arousals a person experiences in a night. However, a diet high in fat can also improve Non-REM. REM is important for mental alertness upon waking, and arousals can interrupt a good night’s sleep. High-fat diets can also lead to excess weight gain, which is associated with several sleep disorders including obstructive apnea.
  • High-protein diet: High-protein diets, especially due to the consumption of meats, have been associated with negative sleep patterns. In a 2019 study, scientists suggest that a high protein intake can cause an amino acid imbalance in the body that disrupts its ability to synthesize serotonin from tryptophan. Protein is also difficult and time consuming for the body to digest, which can cause difficulty at night.
  • Spicy foods: Johns Hopkins Medicine notes that spicy and acidic foods should be avoided 3-4 hours before bed, as they can cause acid reflux that is worsened by lying down.

Can Meditation Improve Sleep Quality?

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Our busy lives can be full of responsibilities, stressors, or bad habits that often make it tough to get a good night’s sleep. Online, you can find hundreds of suggestions and proposed remedies for people struggling to get the sleep they need. One such suggestion that appears frequently is meditation.

Man Meditating in front of bedBut we wanted to take a closer look at the science: can meditation really improve sleep quality?

Why it can be difficult to get quality sleep

If you’re having trouble during the night, you’re not alone. As many as one in three adults suffer from insomnia, with causes ranging from caffeine intake to clinical psychological disorders like anxiety. Getting enough sleep is critical for our health, and chronic insomnia can actually make underlying conditions worse. And while individuals should seek treatment for underlying psychological disorders, personal habits also dictate how well we sleep at night.

So what role can meditation play in our daily routines to ensure we get the sleep we need?

Harvard Health highlighted the potential benefits of certain types of meditation, and multiple studies also suggest that meditation can have physiological impacts on the sleep cycle.

Science says meditation does improve sleep

Research written in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, with regular meditation over the course of two weeks, participants showed positive improvements on both sleep quality and duration. Another study, published by the Medical Science Monitor, also suggests that daily meditation practice can lead to improved sleep quality as self-reported by participants.

Two other studies, published by JAMA Internal Medicine in 2015 and another by Sleep and Biological Rhythms in 2016, found that mindfulness meditation improved the sleep quality of older participants. In fact, the 2016 study noted improvements in all stages of the sleep cycle.

Meditation, GABA and the sleep cycle

A young woman doing yoga exercise in morning in a bedroomTo understand how meditation can help improve your quality of sleep, it is important to understand the sleep cycle. The brain goes through four stages of sleep. Stages one through three are progressively deeper phases of sleep known as slow-wave sleep or Non-Rapid Eye Movement (Non-REM) sleep. During these phases, electrical activity in the brain slows down, the heart rate decreases and breathing becomes more shallow. The last phase, Rapid Eye Movement (REM), consists of increased brain activity. REM sleep is when most dreaming occurs. A quality night of rest will include several repetitions of these steps, which get longer each time.

With that process in mind, we can transition to the molecular mechanisms in the brain that regulate the sleep system, focusing on one class of molecules in particular: GABA. This is an inhibitory neurotransmitter; it acts by reducing activity between neurons. According to a report in Neuroscience, a publication of the International Brain Research Organization, and a study written by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, there are three subsets of these receptors in the brain, each with different effects on sleep:

  • GABAA agonists enhance non-REM, slow-wave sleep-inducing deep sleep, but can decrease the quality of REM sleep. Multiple drugs including barbiturates (the active compounds in sedatives like Seconal and Donnatal), benzodiazepines (the active compounds in Xanax, Valium and Klonopin), imidazopyridines (the active compounds in Ambien and NSAIDs like ibuprofen) and cyclopyrrolones (the active compound in Lunesta) function by interacting with GABAA receptors.
  • GABAB agonists enhance deep sleep and the functioning of the circadian rhythm, but with minimal effects on REM sleep. These agonists are not as well-studied as their GABAA counterparts, but include the compound GHB, or sodium oxybate.
  • GABAC agonists have been studied for having potential uses in treating insomnia and narcolepsy, but have not been made clinically available and are not fully understood.

Transcendental Meditation is a type of meditation associated with hormonal changes in the brain that mimic the effects of GABA and stimulate releases of the neurotransmitter in specific areas of the brain. This is according to an article published in Medical Hypothesis. The article goes on to say that the relaxation associated with Transcendental Meditation is similar to the feelings of euphoria and relaxation experienced after exercise.

Another article, published in Brain Stimulation, found that the production and release of GABA in the brain increased after a single meditation session. This increase measurably changed the brain activity of meditators compared to a control group.

Put more simply, Dr. Herbert Benson, the author of the JAMA study, told Harvard Health that meditation works by inducing what he calls the “relaxation response.” The relaxation response describes the psychological changes that occur when the body calms down—it’s literally the opposite of becoming stressed out.

Tips for meditating your way to better sleep

This all sounds great, but meditation can be scary for beginners. Luckily, there are many resources that offer introductions into the world of meditation.

woman meditating in lotus position on bed before sleepThere are many schools of meditation to choose from, each with different methods of training and relaxation. To find one that is right for you, several the Mayo Clinic lists include: guided meditation, yoga practice, Transcendental Meditation, mindfulness meditation, Tai Chi and Qi Gong. While some commercial forms require instruction or certification, there are resources online available free of charge to help beginners integrate meditation into their daily routine. UCLA Health offers a free meditation app that provides instruction and resources informed by the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center. Other popular apps include Headspace, Calm and Simple Habit.

To determine if meditation is right for you, take 20 minutes and try the following routine from the Mayo Clinic:

  • Keep an open mind to the process of meditation
  • Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed or interrupted
  • Assume a comfortable position that allows you to maintain good posture, either sitting, laying down, standing up or walking
  • Deep breathing at a consistent pace
  • Relax your muscles
  • Focus your mind on something. This can be a mantra, your breathing, part of your body or an emotion
  • Consider choosing a phrase or word to repeat as you meditate
  • Be mindful and recenter your thoughts as you notice your mind wandering

It is important to remember that quality is the key factor and is a product of a holistic regiment of healthy habits. Be sure to read our eight tips for a better night’s sleep.

 

Anxiety: Guide and Tips for Better Sleep

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Depressed man suffering from anxiety lying in bed

Anxiety has an especially insidious relationship to sleep. Sleeplessness, caused by symptoms of anxiety, will inevitably lead to more trouble falling asleep. The two feed off of each other in a downward spiral that can make life miserable.

Sleep is an important tool to manage anxiety; therefore, it is extremely important to understand how the two relate, and how to manage a healthy sleep cycle even when suffering from symptoms of anxiety.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America is a leading nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of mental health issues. According to them, anxiety disorder is the single most common mental illness in the United States. Over 40 million U.S adults suffer from the disorder, constituting a massive 18% of the population.

How anxiety affects the body

The relationship between sleep and anxiety is embedded in the symptoms of mental illness. Having a basic understanding of how anxiety works can help in creating strategies to manage it, especially when it comes to sleep.

There are several types of anxiety disorders, ranging from generalized anxiety to specific phobias. The Mayo Clinic lists the following symptoms for generalized anxiety:

  • Constant worrying about things in a way that is “out of proportion”
  • Overthinking everything
  • Feeling threatened in unthreatening situations
  • Fear or discomfort with uncertainty
  • Extreme hesitancy and fear of making bad choices
  • Inability to relax or set aside worries
  • Difficulty concentrating, accompanied by the feeling of a blank mind

The Mayo Clinic also lists the following physical symptoms:

  • Tiredness (fatigue)
  • Muscle tension and soreness
  • Twitching and trembling
  • Frightens easily
  • Increased sweating
  • Stomach problems including nausea, diarrhea, and even irritable bowel syndrome
  • Irritability

Stressed business woman with anxiety disorder

The severity of any and all of these symptoms fluctuates depending on a number of stress factors, and the patterns of symptoms present can be different in every individual case of anxiety.

Scientists are still unsure about the neurological root causes of anxiety disorders. A 2017 review found that due to its overlap with other mood and affective disorders, scientists had yet to specify with certainty the biological mechanics of how anxiety affects the brain of people. Scientists hypothesize that it might be related to a chemical imbalance affecting our “fight or flight” response, which defines how we physiologically and psychologically react to different situations. The amygdala is necessary for this process and remains a target of study.

How anxiety affects sleep patterns

It is important to reiterate here that there are several specific disorders associated with anxiety. PTSD, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and OCD are but a few that rest within the spectrum. Each of these has been associated with its own effect on sleep, some of which are discussed below.

  • Panic Disorder: Patients with panic disorder have been found to have reduced sleep efficiency, the ratio between the time they spend in bed and the actual amount of time they sleep. Patients typically find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep as well. Often they are interrupted by night time panic attacks and suffer from insomnia as a result.
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Studies have found that up to 70% of patients who suffer from GAD also suffer from chronic insomnia. It has been speculated that people with insomnia, usually at the hands of racing thoughts and worry, might even be recognized as a symptom of GAD. Regardless of which one causes the other, lack of sleep can exacerbate other symptoms of GAD.
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Results of studies aimed at identifying the exact relationship between OCD and sleep have been mixed. Many of them report links between insomnia and OCD, though no conclusive data suggests there is a significant impairment in the quality of sleep for people with OCD.
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Evidence has also been mixed on whether PTSD patients suffer significant sleep disturbances as a result of their disorder. Some studies have found that there is an increased REM density (more active eye movements) in PTSD patients, suggesting more intense dreams. This could be a result of their inability to stop reliving traumatic events, which might follow them in their dreams.

Overall, anxiety seems to be linked to difficulty in falling asleep (insomnia), and in some cases an increase in sleep disturbances throughout the night.

Tips for maintaining healthy sleep

young woman has insomnia due to anxietyTo address the main sleep problems associated with anxiety, try the following tips and tricks to manage symptoms during bedtime:

  • Seek treatment for your anxiety disorder: This might be the most effective way to get a good night’s sleep if you have anxiety. Visit a specialist to determine which type of treatment is right for you, be it therapy, medication, or a combination of the two. Treating the root causes of the problem is the best way to ensure that sleep problems are reduced as well.
  • If you are on medication, note side effects: Some medications can keep you up at night, even if they are not prescribed directly for anxiety. Talk to your doctor about your trouble sleeping, and work together to determine if medication might be the cause.
  • Eat healthily, and exercise regularly: A good diet and routine exercise can go a long way in defeating sleep problems, as well as symptoms of anxiety. Make sure not to eat heavily or exercise too close to bedtime.
  • Avoid stimulating or depressing substances: Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and other drugs can complicate your sleep cycle and increase symptoms of anxiety. If you suffer from panic disorder, you might want to consider excluding caffeine from your diet entirely.
  • Avoid electronics and bright lights before bed: Exposing yourself to artificial light in the evening will interrupt the body’s natural process of growing drowsy and inducing sleep. Consuming stimulating information close to bed can also contribute to racing thoughts and worrying thought patterns that might keep you up.
  • Find your own way to relax: Whether it’s with music, a hot bath or meditation. Finding personalized tools and techniques that allow you to calm your mind before bed will improve your chances of falling asleep quickly. That will help you to sleep soundly throughout the night.

 

Are Naps Good For You?

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All About Napping

There’s nothing quite like giving in to your heavy eyelids and drifting off to sleep in the middle of the afternoon. Even if it’s just for a short time.

Young man napping on his couch at home in the living roomFrom carefree kids and overworked parents to even the family pets, it seems like everybody loves napping. In the United States, one in three adults have taken one in the last twenty-four hours, according to data from the Pew Research Center. Indeed, napping happens all over the world, among all age groups.

There’s the famous 20-minute power nap at work. The commute doze-off on the way to or from the office. The Sunday afternoon snooze. The list goes on and on.

Some say they are the unexpected “hack” that helps them be productive all day long. Others deride them as the vice of the lazy or unorganized—a bad way for those who don’t get their eight hours a night to play catch up.

But what does science say about naps? Are they really as good as they feel? Can they make us more productive? The answers might surprise you.

Are naps good for you?

The short answer to this is yes, under the right conditions. Napping is essentially “sleep lite;” when we do, we fall asleep faster and move through the stages of sleep just as we do at night, though we often jump more quickly into the type of sleep we need the most. When performed correctly (we will get into this later), they are one of the best ways not just to catch up on missed sleep, but also to get a myriad of other health benefits as well.

If you do it right, napping provides a ton of short-term benefits, such as:

  • Feeling less sleepy (duh)
  • Increased alertness
  • Improved cognitive functioning
  • Improved mood
  • Enhanced short-term memory
  • Improved psychomotor functioning (activities such as driving a car or playing an instrument)

There is also some evidence that napping may provide limited cardiovascular benefits, though more research must be done.

Are there downsides?

With all those benefits of napping, you might be wondering why we don’t take them even more.

For one, there are logistical obstacles to stealing the time and space for a quick snooze. Though there is a growing trend to allow employees to sleep at work, most people still find it difficult to fit into their schedule.

Even if you have some time and a comfortable place to close your eyes, effective napping is made all the more difficult by a concept referred to as sleep inertia in the scientific community. For the rest of us, this phenomenon is known as, “feeling extremely groggy when I wake up from a nap,” syndrome. Waking up can be as difficult as waking up in the morning if you fall into a deep sleep (especially slow-wave sleep), making the proper timing of a nap all the more important.

The Mayo Clinic also points out that some people might experience trouble sleeping during their nighttime sleep schedules or staying asleep after napping during the day. Though they don’t seem to affect most people in this way, but those who are prone to insomnia or with sleep disorders should avoid taking long naps regularly.

What does the perfect nap look like?

Young woman napping in parkAlthough there probably isn’t one “perfect” nap, there are certainly better naps for different needs. For example:

  • If you just need a quick afternoon pick me up: Anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes should do the trick. At this length you are unlikely to experience severe sleep inertia, making your return to work easy, and you will experience the benefits of napping for about 3 hours.
  • If you want to prepare for a long night of work or play: Try taking a nap for an hour or two. You will definitely experience some sleep inertia grogginess after you wake up, but the benefits of your nap can stay with you for up to 24 hours afterwards. Just make sure you don’t need to be in a meeting (or operate heavy machinery) immediately after you wake up!
  • Something in between: If you just need a boost that will take you through the afternoon and evening but not all night, try sleeping for about 30 to 45 minutes. You will get a little bit of grogginess, but not much, and the benefits of your nap will last about 12 hours.

Tips for napping your best nap:

Now that you know the ups and downs of napping, here are a few extra tips to help set yourself up for the optimal nap experience:

Young woman napping in park

  1. Best time to nap: We all experience afternoon drowsiness. For those who rise early, that window is around 1 to 2 p.m. For late risers, that time is about an hour and a half later. Timing in this window will help you fall asleep quicker and avoid disrupting your nighttime sleep schedule.
  2. Decide what kind you need: Do you need a quick ten minutes? Or are you going to a rave later? Choose how long to nap, and set an alarm that gives you enough time to achieve the right amount of sleep.
  3. Choose the right place: Find a place where you won’t be disturbed. Get yourself comfortable, and try to darken your environment (a sleep mask works great if you can’t dim the lights).
  4. Give yourself plenty of time to wake up: Make sure that you are aware of the things you have to do when you wake up. It’s not the best idea to drag yourself into an important presentation five minutes after waking up from a two-hour nap. Shorter is better for the workplace, as they make you less drowsy when you wake up.
  5. Take notes and improve: After trying these techniques for a while, you should begin to find a rhythm that allows you to take effective naps depending on your personal lifestyle. Make sure to pay attention to how you sleep in the evenings following naps. If you find it difficult to sleep in the evening, you may be sleeping too much during the day.

Am I Getting Enough Sleep at Night?

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Take this simple quiz to measure your sleep health.

  1. Do you wake up every day wishing you could go back to sleep?
  2. Do you find yourself zoning out, or nodding off during meetings?
  3. Do you need multiple cups of coffee to make it through the day?
  4. As you read this article, do you notice yourself reading and rereading a particular sentence or paragraph over and over?

The answers to these questions point to the quantity and quality of sleep you are getting each night.

While many movers and shakers in today’s world will contend that they need only 4-5 hours of sleep per night to be highly functional, more and more research shows that an 8-9 hour window is necessary to reap the benefits of a good night’s rest. Showing 6 hours is not enough. Anything less and you’re putting your health at risk and could even be missing out on perks like the boost in creativity and problem-solving you may accrue while dreaming.

Despite the benefits, we know that sleep provides, and the glorious feeling we all have after getting a full night of it. Though, many of us still do not dedicate adequate time to it. So, if you simply don’t want to, or for whatever reason can’t get the recommended 8+ hours of rest, how do you know if you’re routinely getting a healthy amount? Be sure to read our article, 8 Tips for a Better Night’s Sleep.

lying-awake-at-night

Defining Sleep Health

A group of researchers led by Daniel J. Buysse, MD from the Sleep Medicine Institute and Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, has developed a tool to help the general public better understand and talk about their sleep health.

What exactly is sleep health? Here is the group’s proposed definition:

A multidimensional pattern of sleep-wakefulness, adapted to individual, social, and environmental demands, that promotes physical and mental well-being. Good sleep health is characterized by subjective satisfaction, appropriate timing, adequate duration, high efficiency, and sustained alertness during waking hours.

Of course, by this definition, it is difficult to quantify–especially given that it is “adapted to individual, social, and environmental demands,” and so will vary depending on the individual and their circumstances.

Enter SATED

SATED, a self-report scale that Buysse and crew believe can help us measure sleep health. Answering SATED’s series of questions–around your Satisfaction, Alertness while awake, Timing of sleep, sleep Efficiency, and Duration –can help you determine your level of fulfillment each night. Simply total your rating in each category to get your overall sleep health score.

sleep-sated-info-graphic
Photograph: Daniel J Buysse/University of Pittsburgh

One of the goals these researchers had in developing SATED was to shift medicine’s focus from simply looking for ways to treat common problems like insomnia, apnea and the like, to a more holistic focus on promoting positive habits.

Creating a scale like SATED gives us a means of studying this type of specific health better. Simply introducing and defining sleep health could help people recognize any deficiencies they might have and empower them to make changes in their lives and improve their overall health in the process.