Ultra-Processed Foods (UPF) it may be related to the insomnia experienced by about a third of adults. An analysis of dietary patterns and sleep reported in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dieteticspublished by Elsevier, shows a statistically significant association between UPF consumption and chronic insomnia independent of sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, diet quality, and mental health status.
Lead researcher Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, Division of General Medicine and Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, explains, “At a time when more and more foods are highly processed and sleep disorders are rampant, it is important to assess whether diet could be contributing to poor or good sleep quality.”
While previous studies have examined nutrients or dietary supplements in relation to sleep (for example, protein, magnesium), this study is novel because it assesses a dietary pattern beyond nutrients and specific foods and shows that the degree of processing of food may have some significance for sleep health.
Dr. St-Onge adds, “Our research team previously reported associations of healthy dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean diet, with a reduced risk of insomnia and poor sleep quality (both cross-sectionally and longitudinally) and high-carbohydrate diets with an increased risk of insomnia. of UPF is on the rise worldwide and has been linked to many health conditions such as diabetes, obesity and cancer.”
To examine dietary intakes in relation to sleep, this large epidemiological study used NutriNet-Santé data from more than 39,000 French adults. This large cohort study was ideally suited to address this question since it included sleep variables and multiple days of detailed dietary information.
Data were collected every six months between 2013 and 2015 from adults who completed multiple 24-hour dietary records and provided information on insomnia symptoms. The definition of insomnia was based on the criteria provided by DSM-5 and ICSD-3.
Participants reported consuming about 16% of energy from UPF, and nearly 20% reported chronic insomnia. Subjects who reported chronic insomnia consumed a higher proportion of their energy intake from UPF. The association of higher UPF intake and insomnia was evident in both men and women, but the risk was slightly higher in men than in women.
First author Pauline Duquenne, MSc, Sorbonne Paris Nord University and Paris Cité University, INSERM, INRAE, CNAM, Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Center for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS), warns, “It is important to note that our analyzes were cross-sectional and observational in nature, and we did not assess longitudinal association. Although the data do not prove causality, our study is the first of its kind and contributes to the existing body of knowledge about UPF.”
Other limitations of the study included reliance on self-reported data and potential misclassification of some foods. Caution is advised when generalizing the findings because NutriNet-Santé includes a higher proportion of women and individuals of high socioeconomic status compared to the general French population, although UPF intake was similar to a nationally representative sample.
The researchers recommend that future studies test for causality and assess associations over time. However, they advise that people with sleep difficulties can look at their diet to determine if UPF could be contributing to their sleep problems.
Source:
Journal Reference:
Duquenne, P., et al. (2024). Intake of highly processed food as an independent risk factor for chronic insomnia. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2024.02.015.
