What You Eat Can Affect Your Sleep - Literature review Example

?Literature Review: An investigation to determine if what you eat can affect your sleep Sleep problems are commonly experienced by adults and children. Sleep problems include but are not limited to insomnia, heart burn, and night terrors. “Nighttime eating is often associated with metabolic syndrome and poor body composition and these conditions may be influenced by the natural decline in metabolism that occurs during sleep” (Eddy et al, 2012). At least one-third adults are affected by the disturbed sleep linked with impairment of the daytime functioning or difficulty in staying asleep (Ohayon, 2002). This literature review provides review of various studies to date that have studied the effects of diet on sleep and various problems and/or disorders of sleep. Reduced duration of sleep is linked with increased tendency of developing such disorders of metabolism as increased Body Mass Index (BMI) and Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) (Grandner and Drummond, 2007). Increased intake of fat is thought to be associated with obesity and reduced sleep (Cappuccio et al, 2008). Higher intake of fat results from short duration of sleep as a result of which BMI increases. There exists a vicious cycle between sleep, consumption of dietary fat, and increased BMI. There is also a connection between the synthesis of macromolecules like lipids, cholesterol, and proteins (Mackiewicz et al, 2007). For instance, there may be changes in cholesterol metabolism because of sleep disruption that causes differences in the intake of cholesterol. Late sleep acrophase i.e. sleep rhythm’s peak time is linked with increased intake of the fat-soluble vitamin Vitamin D. This leads to the conclusion that the total duration of sleep is negatively linked with the fat intake in diet (Grandner et al, 2010). The optimal level of glucose tolerance is reached in the mornings whereas its lowest levels are reached around the mid of night (Shapiro et al, 1991). The utilization of glucose is the least during the non-REM sleep and gets to its maximum level during the wake time while there are intermediate levels of glucose utilization occurring during REM sleep (Scheen et al, 1996). Effective management of the sleeping disorders and the effects of such medical conditions as diabetes impart the need for maintenance of an optimal level of glucose. Appetite is regulated by two complementary sets of neuronal circuits inside the arcuate nucleus. Leptin is the hormone that inhibits the appetite and promotes the feeling of satiety in an individual and reaches its peak during the initial part of the sleep duration (Gale, Castracane, and Mantzoros, 2004). Ghrelin is a hormone that stimulates appetite and increases appetite as well as the intake of food (van der Lely et al, 2004). Deprivation of sleep alters Leptin as well as Ghrelin. Zammit et al (1995) administered the liquid carbohydrate meals in 12 subjects at lunchtime consecutively on two days and used 9 subjects as controls that were not given lunch meals. The research led to the conclusion that intake of lunchtime food does not facilitate sleep initiation, but does extent the duration of sleep episodes that happen during the postnatal period. Kwan, Thomas, and Mir (1986) carried out a research on 6 healthy females to study the effect of low CHO diet on the sleep behavior and found no significant change in the stages and time of sleep except for an increase in the REM latency. They also found that sleep parameters were neither affected by high CHO diet nor the low CHO diet. Children experience a range of sleep difficulties that include but are not limited to night walking, short-term difficulties in sleep, and more serious disorders of sleep breathing like obstructive sleep apnoea (Owens and Witmans, 2004). Jalilolghadr et al (2011) carried out a research on eight children to study the effect of low and high drinks of glycaemic index on the sleep pattern of children. As a result of the research, Jalilolghadr et al (2011) found that total arousal indices and NREM were higher in the children that consumed drinks of high glycaemic index as compared to others that consumed drinks with low glycaemic index, one hour before sleep. This led the researchers to the conclusion that consumption of carbohydrates in high quantity close to the bedtime results in frequent arousals and affects the quality of sleep. Afaghi, O’Connor, and Chow (2007) found that consumption of meal with high glycaemic index 4 hours before sleep causes substantial reduction of SOL in the case of healthy adults whereas SOL was found to be significantly longer in the cases where the meal high in glycaemic index was received one hour before the bedtime. Therefore, the effect of intake of diet with high glycaemic index in shortening the SOL is more obvious when the meal is consumed more than an hour before sleep. Sleep is undermined by the consumption of diet high in fat (Breus, 2013). Cornu et al (2010) carried out a research to study the impact of a dietary supplement with polyunsaturated fatty acids along with the extract of Humulus lupulus upon the quality of sleep in subjects that had sleep disorders ranging from moderate to severe. It was found that the dietary supplement neither affected the melatonin sleep onset, perceived quality of sleep, nor the sleep-wake cycle. Kiwifruit contains a range of medicinally useful compounds of which serotonin and antioxidants might help in the treatment of sleep disorders (Ferguson et al, 2003; Szeto, 2002). Lin et al (2011) carried out a research on 24 subjects in which they applied a self-controlled and free-living diet design to study the effects of consumption of kiwifruit on the sleep patterns including the onset, quality, and duration of sleep. After 4 consecutive weeks of consumption of kiwifruit, waking time after the sleep onset latency, the onset of sleep, and the subjective CPSQUI score were found to be decreased significantly. The research led to the conclusion that consumption of kiwifruit improves the onset and duration of sleep, as well as the efficiency in adults that report sleep disturbances. Tart Montmorency cherries are known for providing numerous health benefits including reduction in the symptoms of gout (Jacob et al, 2003). Cherry juice has been found to reduce the level of oxidative stress as well as inflammation after a strenuous exercise thus enabling the anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants to modulate the indices of sleep (Howatson et al, 2010). In addition to that, Tart Montmorency cherries contain phytochemicals in high amounts that include melatonin that is a molecule that plays a critical role in the regulation of sleep-wake cycle. Howatson et al (2011) carried out research to find out the role of ingestion of tart cherry juice concentrate on the quality of sleep and the levels of urinary melatonin in healthy adults. The research led them to the conclusion that ingestion of the concentrate of tart cherry juice concentrate in healthy adults leads to the increased level of exogenous melatonin which not only improves the quality of sleep and its duration in the healthy women and men but also proves beneficial in the management of disturbed sleep. According to the Clinical Director, Donna Arand, from the Ohio-based Kettering and Sycamore Sleep Center, there is very limited, if any, research in which the effect of food on dreams has been studied (Webber, 2009). However, Arand does link the diet to dreams in these words, “if a person eats any food that upsets their stomach, gives them heartburn, or makes them feel ill, that can make their dreams unpleasant” (Arand cited in Webber, 2009). Nevertheless, there is still great need for detailed research to investigate the impact of diet on dreams. References: Afaghi, A, O'Connor, H, and Chow, CM 2007, High-glycemic-index carbohydrate meals shorten sleep onset, Am J Clin Nutr, Vol. 85, pp. 426-430. Breus, MJ 2013, A High-Fat Diet Undermines Sleep, Psychology Today, [Online] Available at http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sleep-newzzz/201208/high-fat-diet-undermines-sleep [viewed: 23 January 2013]. Cappuccio, FP, Taggart, FM, Kandala, NB, Currie, A, Peile, E, Stranges, S, et al 2008, Meta-analysis of short sleep duration and obesity in children and adults, Sleep, Vol. 31, No. 5, pp. 619–626. Cornu, C, Remontet, L, Noel-Baron, F, Nicolas, A, Feugier-Favier, N, Roy, P, Claustrat, B, Saadatian-Elahi, M, and Kassai, B 2010, Research article A dietary supplement to improve the quality of sleep: a randomized placebo controlled trial, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Vol. 10, No. 29, pp. 1-9. Eddy, WR, Kinsey, AW, Madzima, TA, Blay, CJ, Thomas, DD, Panton, LB, Kim, J, and Ormsbee, MJ 2012, The effect of nighttime macronutrient choice and exercise training on resting metabolic rate, appetite, and body composition in overweight and obese men and women, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Vol. 9. No. 1, pp. 1-2. Ferguson, AR, and Ferguson, LR 2003, Are Kiwifruit Really Good for You? Acta Horticulturae, Vol. 610, pp. 131-135. Gale, SM, Castracane, VD, Mantzoros, CS 2004, Energy homeostasis, obesity and eating disorders: recent advances in endocrinology, J Nutr, Vol. 134, No. 2, pp. 295–298. Grandner, MA, and Drummond, SP 2007, Who are the long sleepers? Towards an understanding of the mortality relationship, Sleep Med Rev, Vol. 11, No. 5, pp. 341–360. Grandner, M, Kripke, D, Naidoo, N, and Langer, R 2010, Relationships among dietary nutrients and subjective sleep, objective sleep, and napping in women, Sleep Med, Vol. 11, No. 2, p. 180. Howatson, G, McHugh, MP, Hill, JA, Brouner, J, Jewell, AP, Van, Someren, KA, Shave, RE, and Howatson, SA 2010, In?uence of tart cherry juice on indices of recovery following marathon running, Scand J Med Sci Sports, Vol. 20, No. 6, pp. 843–852. Howatson, G, Bell, PG, Tallent, J, Middleton, B, McHugh, MP, and Ellis, J 2011, Effect of tart cherry juice (Prunus cerasus) on melatonin levels and enhanced sleep quality, Eur J Nur, DOI 10.1007/s00394-011-0263-7, [Online] Available at http://www.cherryactive.co.uk/images/Montmorency%20Cherry%20Concentrate%20(CherryActive)%20on%20sleep%20quality.pdf [viewed, 23 January 2013]. Jacob, RA, Spinozzi, GM, Simon, VA, Kelley, DS, Prior, RL, HessPierce, B, and Kader, AA 2003, Consumption of cherries lowers plasma urate in healthy women, J Nutr, Vol. 133, No. 6, pp. 1826–1829. Jalilolghadr, S, Afaghi, A, O’Connor, H, and Chow, CM 2011, Effect of low and high glycaemic index drink on sleep pattern in children, J Pak Med Assoc, Vol. 61, No. 6, pp. 533-536. Lin, H, Tsai, P, Fang, S, and Liu, J 2011, Effect of kiwifruit consumption on sleep quality in adults with sleep problems, Asia Pac J Clin Nutr, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 169-174. Kwan, RM, Thomas, S, and Mir, MA 1986, Effects of a low carbohydrate isoenergetic diet on sleep behavior and pulmonary functions in healthy female adult humans, J Nutr, Vol. 116, pp. 2393-2402. Mackiewicz, M, Shockley, KR, Romer, MA, Galante, RJ, Zimmerman, JE, and Naidoo, N et al 2007, Macromolecule biosynthesis: a key function of sleep, Physiol Genomics, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 441–457. Ohayon, MM 2002, Epidemiology of insomnia: what we know and what we still need to learn, Sleep Med Rev, Vol. 6, pp. 97-111. Owens, JA, and Witmans, M 2004, Sleep problems, Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care, Vol. 34, pp. 154-179. Szeto, YT, Tomlinson, B, and Benzie, IF 2002, Total antioxidant and ascorbic acid content of fresh fruits and vegetables: implications for dietary planning and food preservation, Br J Nutr, Vol. 87, pp. 55-59. Scheen, AJ, Byrne, MM, Plat, L, Van, Cauter, E 1996, Relationships between sleep quality and glucose regulation in normal humans, Am J Physiol, Vol. 271, pp. 261–270. Shapiro, ET, Polonsky, KS, and Copinschi, G, et al 1991, Nocturnal elevation of glucose levels during fasting in noninsulin-dependent diabetes, J Clin Endocrinol Metab, Vol. 72, pp. 444–454. van der Lely, A, Tschop, M, Heiman, M, and Ghigo E 2004, Biological, physiological, pathophysiological, and pharmacological aspects of ghrelin, Endocr Rev, 25, 3, pp. 426–457. Webber, R 2009, How Does Food Affect Your Dreams? [Online] Available at http://www.chow.com/food-news/55306/how-does-food-affect-your-dreams/ [viewed: 23 January 2013]. Zammit, GK, Kolevzon, A, Fauci, M, Shindledecker, R, and Ackerman, S 1995, Postprandial sleep in healthy men, Sleep, Vol. 18, pp. 229-231. Read More