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A new study from Columbia and the University of Chicago found that eating a certain amount of fruit during the day can improve sleep that very night.
Poor sleep and insomnia harm health, affecting the heart, memory, learning, and mood. Researchers have long observed that people who stay awake for long stretches often adopt unhealthy habits, especially eating foods high in fat and sugar.
The study’s authors say we still know relatively little about how diet affects sleep.
What Did the Researchers Discover?
The researchers identified a short-term link between daytime food choices and sleep quality that night. They found that adding five cups of fruits and vegetables to a daily diet improved sleep that same night.
A “cup” of fruits and vegetables in the study means about 80–100 grams of fresh produce, so five cups is roughly 400–500 grams. “Such a significant change happened in less than 24 hours,” said Esra Tasali, a sleep expert and co-author of the study. “Adjusting your diet could be a natural, cost-effective way to improve sleep.”
In the study, healthy young volunteers logged their daily food intake in a specialized mobile app. A wrist tracker gave the researchers objective data on participants’ sleep. The team specifically measured sleep fragmentation — how often someone wakes up or slips from deep to light sleep during the night.
Daily diet was linked to “significant differences” in nighttime sleep. Participants who ate more fruits and vegetables during the day slept deeper and more continuously. Those who consumed healthy carbohydrates, such as whole grains, also slept better.
Overall, the researchers calculated that people who ate the recommended five cups of fruits and vegetables a day improved their sleep quality by about 16% compared with those who didn’t.
Tasali said, “A 16 percent difference is quite significant.”
The team plans to study different population groups to learn more about how fruits and vegetables improve sleep.
They recommend adding fruits and vegetables to your diet regularly to help combat insomnia.
The study was published in the journal Sleep Health.
