New research suggests that eating five glasses of fruits and vegetables during the day can significantly improve your sleep quality during the same night.
From counting sheep counts to using white noise machines and weighted blankets, people have tried countless strategies to help them sleep soundly. Sleep disruption can have a wide range of negative effects, including cardiovascular and metabolic health, memory, learning, productivity, mood regulation, and relationship issues.
A powerful tool for better sleep may have been evidently hidden in the produce passageway. New research led by researchers of University of Chicago Medicine and Columbia University Eating more fruits and vegetables during the day was found to be associated with improved sleep quality during the same night.
“Eating modifications can be a new, natural, and cost-effective approach to achieving a better sleep,” said Esra Tasali, co-author of MD, director of UCHICAGO Sleep Center. “The temporal associations and objectively measured results of this study represent important steps in filling the gaps in important public health knowledge.”
Uncovering the connection between food and sleep
Research shows that too little sleep will allow people to choose a higher diet in fat and sugar. However, while the impact of sleep on health and productivity is well documented, little is known about how diet affects sleep patterns.
Previous observational studies have linked high fruit and vegetable intake with better self-reported sleep quality. However, this new study is the first to demonstrate a direct link between foods eaten during the day and how well you sleep that night, based on objective data.
In this study, healthy young adults used the app to record daily food intake and wear wrist monitors that tracked sleep. The researchers focused on “sleep fragmentation.” This is a measure of how often a person wakes up or moves from deep sleep to light sleep.
Promising findings support dietary guidelines
Researchers found that daily meals correlate with meaningful differences in sleep over the next night. Participants who ate more fruits and vegetables during the day were more likely to get deeper, more uninterrupted sleep that night, just like those who consumed healthy carbohydrates like whole grains.
Based on the findings and statistical modelling, researchers estimate that people who eat CDCs perform five cups of fruits and vegetables per day may have a 16% improvement in sleep quality compared to people who do not consume fruits and vegetables.
“16% is a huge difference,” Tasari said. “It’s surprising that such meaningful changes can be observed within 24 hours.”
Future research will help establish causal relationships, broaden the findings of diverse populations as a whole, and examine the underlying mechanisms of digestion, neurology and metabolism that can explain the positive effects of fruits and vegetables on sleep quality. However, based on current data, experts are confidently advised that eating a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables on a regular basis is best for long-term sleep health.
“They’re the ones who are doing this,” said Dr. Marie Pierre St. Ondo, director of the Sleep and Circadian Research Center in Columbia. “Small changes can affect your sleep. It’s empowering. Better rest is within your control.”
See: “The higher the daytime intake of fruits and vegetables, the less nighttime sleep in younger adults,” Hedda L. Boge, Katherine D. Wilson, Jennifer M. Kilks, Waverly Chu, Bin Chen, Kristen E. Wirowski, Becky Tucker, Esla Tasari and Marie Pierre Stoan Ngen. Sleep health.
doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2025.05.003
The work was supported by grants from National Institutes of Health (R01HL142648, R35HL155670, UL1TR001873, CTSA-UL1TR0002389, UL1TR002389, R01DK136214, T32HL007605), and the Diabetes Research Center, University of Chicago.
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