According to a new research from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleeping through the night and reaching deep, slow-wave sleep may be tied to how much sugar, fiber and saturated fat you eat.

The findings were published in January in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

For the randomized study, 13 women and 13 men, with an average age of 35, participated in a five night sleep lab.  Participants laid in bed between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., and slept for an average of seven hours and 35 minutes.  Sleep data, such as brain waves, oxygen levels, and heart rate was recorded. On night three, after three days of eating fixed meals, the data was analyzed, and again on night five, after one day of participants eating as they pleased.

[pullquote]The ability to fall asleep faster after eating high protein, low saturated fat meals, which were designed by a nutritionist, was observed in participants, compared to eating self-selected meals.[/pullquote]

There were a number of findings that connected lower saturated fat and sugar intake with better quality sleep.  Those who ate a higher percentage of energy from saturated fat had less slow-wave sleep, while those that had more fiber spent longer in deep-sleep stages. Higher sugar consumption was associated with waking up more often from sleep.

“Our main finding was that diet quality influenced sleep quality,” principal investigator Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of medicine and Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University Medical Center said in a prepared statement.  “It was most surprising that a single day of greater fat intake and lower fiber could influence sleep.”

The ability to fall asleep faster after eating high protein, low saturated fat meals, which were designed by a nutritionist, was observed in participants, compared to eating self-selected meals.  On average participants took 29 minutes to fall asleep after eating meals of their choosing, compared to 17 minutes after eating controlled meals.   

“The finding that diet can influence sleep has tremendous health implications, given the increasing recognition of the role of sleep in the development of chronic disorders such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” St-Onge said.

More studies are needed to assess the link between diet and sleep quality, the researchers said.