Poor sleep experience might be associated slerp Low-calorie diet for improving sleep quality dietary patterns didt as consuming energy-rich foods, fats, or refined carbohydrates that meet most energy requirements. J Am Geriatr Soc. Deficiencies in nutrients and minerals such as magnesium have been linked to both poor sleep and restlessness, as well as increased anxiety, which can manifest as—you guessed it—restlessness.

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The ONLY Legit Ways to Lose Fat While Sleeping (the rest is BS)

Low-calorie diet for improving sleep quality -

While cortisol is known as the stress hormone, it also causes alertness, which is exactly what you don't want before bed, so eating foods that help suppress or slow its release may be helpful, Ali says.

Kefir, a fermented yogurt drink that's similar to yogurt but has more gut-friendly probiotics, also comes frozen, like a tangier, more nutritious ice cream substitute. Sprinkle some antioxidant-rich nuts on top for a hit of magnesium and melatonin.

You can also try combining kefir and nut butter in our Berry-Kefir Smoothie for a fruity treat. Plus, the healthy fats in the avocado are satiating enough to prevent any hunger pangs that may strike later in the evening.

Try our West Coast Avocado Toast it's topped with sunflower seeds, which also provide a little magnesium boost. Among more than female health care workers, those who ate yogurt for 16 weeks showed considerable improvements in sleep quality compared to a control group that did not consume any fermented dairy during the same time, according to a study in BMC Gastroenterology.

Previous research has found that dairy, particularly fermented dairy like yogurt, may aid sleep quality, possibly due to the presence of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, which may induce relaxation and improve sleep quality.

And the literal cherry on top of this sleep sundae provides melatonin, which can help improve both duration and quality of sleep, research shows.

Plus, our staff dietitians say that this tasty Tart Cherry Nice Cream is the best before-bed snack. Some research has found that calcium deficiencies are related to insomnia and other sleep disturbances, possibly because calcium is integral in the process of using tryptophan to make the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin.

This savory spin on cottage cheese is low in sugar, although if you have a sweet tooth, you could try this Cottage Cheese with Raspberry Honey recipe instead. Not getting enough dietary fiber has been linked with lighter, less restorative and more disrupted sleep in one small study.

Results show that greater fiber intake predicted more time spent in the stage of deep, slow-wave sleep. Kale happens to be a good source of not only fiber, but also other nutrients linked to sleep, including calcium.

Kale chips are a concentrated source of all these, says Nichole Dandrea-Russert, M. Similarly, plant compounds known as isoflavones have been associated with better sleep quality and longer sleep duration. Chickpeas are rich in isoflavones and, when dried and seasoned, make a great snack. Try these Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas or Kale Chips the next time you're craving something crunchy before bed.

That old yarn about warm milk making you sleepy isn't wrong—researchers just discovered that the reason may not be tryptophan, as originally thought, but milk peptides that relieve stress and enhance sleep, according to research published in in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

But there's good news for anyone who doesn't drink cow's milk, too: Soymilk is rich in magnesium, a mineral that has been found to help reduce insomnia, and is an excellent source of vitamin A and calcium, two nutrients that play a large role in the hormonal pathways necessary to sleep, says Christa Brown, M.

In a large study published in in the journal Nutrients , individuals who had a low intake of calcium, magnesium, vitamin A and several other vitamins slept, on average, for less time compared to those who had adequate intakes of those nutrients. Our Banana-Cocoa Soy Smoothie tastes like dessert, but could help you sleep more soundly.

Meanwhile, quicker-digesting carbohydrates such as honey and the lactose in milk stimulate insulin release, which in turn allows tryptophan to enter the brain, where it can produce more serotonin. That means this combination doubles your sleepiness factor.

It is hypothesized that kiwi fruit may help with sleep due to its high antioxidant content, as well as its serotonin and folate content. Elizabeth Pegg Frates, MD, FACLM, DipABLM , Contributor.

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When you wake up in the morning, are you refreshed and ready to go, or groggy and grumpy? For many people, the second scenario is all too common. Improving Sleep: A guide to a good night's rest describes the latest in sleep research, including information about the numerous health conditions and medications that can interfere with normal sleep, as well as prescription and over-the-counter medications used to treat sleep disorders.

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Assessment of nutritional status, including anthropometric measurements height, weight, and waist circumference , bioelectrical impedance analysis phase-sensitive system, 50 kHz BIA RJL, Akern Bioresearch, Florence, Italy Akern , high sensitivity C reactive protein levels hs-CRP , and SQ were carried out at baseline and after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD.

SQ was evaluated using the validated questionnaire Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index PSQI. In conclusion, VLCKD determines an improvement of SQ in women with overweight and obesity, that was mostly mediated by the reduction of fat mass related to this nutritional protocol.

Poor health and an increased risk of chronic non-communicable degenerative diseases [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], particularly cardiometabolic diseases [ 4 , 5 ], have been linked to disruptions in sleep quality.

In particular, obesity is a condition that is often associated with sleep disorders, including reduced sleep quality [ 6 ]. Nutrition plays a crucial role in determining sleep quality, as evidenced by a study involving middle-aged adults that found good sleepers had higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet than poor sleepers [ 7 ].

In this study, consuming the Mediterranean dietary pattern, rather than a single nutrient, was found to have a positive effect on sleep quality [ 7 ]. This promising effect of the Mediterranean diet on sleep quality can be attributed to its high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids and phytochemicals, in particular polyunsaturated fatty acids n-3 and polyphenols, which can reduce inflammation and positively regulate neurotransmission processes, including dopaminergic, serotonergic, cholinergic and glutamatergic systems [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].

The Mediterranean diet can also influence melatonin biosynthesis through certain foods and beverages that contain melatonin precursors namely tryptophan and serotonin and melatonin itself [ 11 ].

Recently, the Very Low-Calorie Ketogenic Diet VLCKD has gained popularity as a successful nutritional pattern for managing obesity [ 12 ].

Of note, VLCKD has been also reported to play some role on sleep [ 13 ]. A nutritional intervention study with a follow-up of 4 month enrolled twenty adult subjects with obesity in order to investigate the effect of a VLCKD on lifestyle in terms of food and alcohol cravings, physical, sexual activity and sleep disturbances [ 13 ].

Relevantly, at the end of VLCKD the authors detected an improvement of sleepiness [ 13 ]. However, little is still known about the effects of this promising nutritional protocol on sleep quality. This was and uncontrolled, single-center, open-label pilot clinical study. The study involved two visits: one at the beginning and another after 31 days of following a VLCKD.

The study received approval from the Federico II Ethical Committee file no. Comprehensive medical information was collected from all participants, and their physical activity levels at baseline were evaluated. Individuals eligible for this study satisfied the following criteria: women aged 18—69 years, body mass index BMI Women with pacemakers or implanted defibrillators and those who had sustained a skin injury where the body impedance analysis BIA electrodes were placed were also excluded from the study due to potential counfounding effects on the phase angle PhA device.

Additionally, reproductive-age participants were assessed during the early follicular phase at both baseline and follow-up.

As illustrated in Fig. The endocrinologist obtained their medical history and ruled out any issues that would prevent them from following VLCKD as per the European Association for the Study of Obesity EASO guidelines [ 17 ].

Afterwards, the nutritionist performed measurements of anthropometric parameters, body composition and sleep quality, and provided clinical nutritional counseling along with instructions for the VLCKD protocol to be followed for a period of 31 days.

All women were informed about the VLCKD protocol and the ketur test, and were instructed to maintain their usual physical activity levels throughout the study. The nutritionist contacted each women by phone once a week to check if they were adhering to the VLCKD protocol and to record ketone body measurements from capillary blood.

After 31 days, all women underwent a follow-up assessment with the endocrinologist and nutritionist, during which they were evaluated clinically, measured for body composition and inflammation markers, and assessed for sleep quality.

A single staff member conducted measurements and evaluations on women in the morning — a. after they had fasted overnight for at least 8 h, as previously reported [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Women wore light clothing and no shoes during the anthropometric measurements.

Height and weight measurements were taken using a wall-mounted stadiometer and a calibrated beam scale, respectively, with height measured to the nearest 0.

The body mass index BMI was calculated using these measurements and classified according to the World Health Organization WHO criteria as:. Obesity grade III Waist circumference WC was measured using a non-stretchable measuring tape to the nearest 0.

Women who met the requirements to participate in the study were put on a VLCKD with the use of replacement meal and which involved three stages: active, re-education, and maintenance [ 23 , 24 , 25 ]. The protein sources used in the VLCKD were derived from high-quality preparations made from peas, eggs, soy, and whey.

To ensure consistency and avoid discrepancies in readings due to different devices or observers, a certified clinical nutritionist conducted the test using the same BIA device.

The phase-sensitive BIA system BIA RJL, Akern Bioresearch, Florence, Italy used was an A current with a frequency of 50 kHz following the guidelines of the ESPEN European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition [ 26 ].

Participants were required to lie down with their limbs slightly apart from the body and to abstain from eating, drinking, or exercising for six hours prior to the test, and from drinking alcohol 24 h before the test.

The participants removed their shoes and socks before the electrodes were applied, and the contact surfaces were cleaned with alcohol. Electrodes were placed on the right hand and foot, and measurements were taken under standardized conditions with the same device to avoid variations due to observers or devices.

The device was checked using resistors and capacitors of known values. The nutritionist monitored any changes in physical activity levels, which were recorded on a predetermined patient card.

Furthermore, once a week, participants performed a capillary blood test at home using test strips Optium Xceed Blood Glucose and Ketone Monitoring System; Abbott Laboratories, Chicago, IL, USA to measure their ketosis. All women had a positive blood ketone test. After an overnight fast of at least 8 h, at baseline and after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD, high sensitivity C reactive protein hs-CRP levels were dosed, taken in the morning 8.

The assessment was conducted in a subgroup of women. The hs-CRP levels were evaluated using a high-sensitivity nephelometric assay CardioPhase hsCRP kit, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, Marburg, Germany , with a lower limit of detection of 0.

The quality of sleep was evaluated using the validated questionnaire Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index PSQI [ 28 ].

This questionnaire consists of seven sessions, including as subjective sleep quality, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep medication use, sleep duration, sleep latency, sleep disturbances, and daytime dysfunction. Each of these seven components is given equal weight and is rated on a scale of zero to three, with three indicating the most negative response on the Likert Scale.

The PSQI score is a global score ranging from zero to 21, and poor sleep quality was defined as a PSQI score of 5 or greater, while good sleep quality was defined as a PSQI score of less than 5 [ 28 ]. The minimum number of cases required was individuals. aspx , as previously reported [ 29 ].

Data were analyzed using MedCalc® package Version Only women who had both baseline and after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD measurements were included in the statistical analysis.

The Kolmogorov—Smirnov test was used to assess data distribution. Skewed variables such as waist circumference WC , fat mass FM , and fat free mass FFM were normalized using a logarithm and then reconverted into figures and tables. ANOVA test with Bonferroni test as post-hoc test was used to analyze the differences in PSQI score at baseline and after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD across BMI, WC, physical activity, hs-CRP, and PSQI categories.

Three hundred and twenty-four women with overweight or obesity who met the necessary criteria were included for statistical analysis.

Table 1 reported anthropometric measurements, body composition parameters, and inflammatory biomarker of the study population at baseline and after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD. Table 3 showed the differences of the single items of PSQI questionnaire and PSQI categories of the study population at baseline and after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD.

The Variation of the PSQI score after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD. PSQI Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Table 4 reported age, anthropometric measurements, physical activity levels, body composition parameters, and inflammatory biomarker of the study population baseline grouped according to the PSQI categories at baseline and after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD.

Figures 3 and 4 showed PSQI score in the different categories of BMI, WC, physical activity, and hs-CRP levels at baseline and after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD, respectively. PSQI score in the different categories of BMI, WC, and physical activity at baseline. hs-CRP levels were evaluated in a subgroup of women.

PSQI Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, BMI body mass index, WC waist circumference, hs-CRP high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. PSQI score in the different categories of BMI, WC, and physical activity after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD.

Correlations of PSQI score with age, anthropometric measurements, body composition parameters, and inflammatory biomarker of the study at baseline and after 31 days of active stage of VLCKD were reported in Table 5.

FM fat mass, PSQI Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. This study demonstrated that VLCKD induced a severe body weight reduction concomitantly with a decrease in FM, WC, FFM, low grade inflammation measured by hs-CRP levels and PhA and improvements in sleep quality.

As previously reported, VLCKD has been demonstrated an effective nutritional protocol able to significantly reduce anthropometric parameters in a short-term period [ 12 , 17 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].

The reduction in anthropometric parameters was also accompanied by an improvement of low-grade inflammation as demonstrated by the decrease of hs-CRP levels and increase of PhA.

This latter agreed with a previous study carried out in subjects with obesity undergoing to VLCKD and experiencing an improvement of low-grade inflammation [ 30 ]. This anti-inflammatory effect is due not only to VLCKD-related weight loss but also to ketone bodies produced during a ketogenic diet that are able to exert fast effective anti-inflammatory effects through several mechanisms, as the activation of the receptor HCA hydroxy-carboxylic acid receptor -2 and PPAR-γ peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma , inhibition of NF-κB nuclear factor kappa B activation, inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome [ 33 ].

Further, the reduction of carbohydrate consumption in the VLCKD lowering chronic inflammation and the risk of obesity-related diseases leads to fatty acid mobilization by adipose tissue that in turn are oxidized to produce ketone bodies, an important energy substrate, leading to reduced body weight and subsequently the inflammatory processes [ 34 ].

In this scenario , we previously highlighted that VLCKD could become a promising therapeutical tool in psoriasis, a chronic skin immune-mediated disease, characterized by chronic underlying inflammation [ 35 ]. As well-known, low-grade inflammation plays a pivotal role in sleep disturbances in obesity [ 6 ].

Indeed, we found that subjects with poor sleep quality had significantly higher levels of hs-CRP levels and lower levels of PhA, along with higher values of BMI, WC, FM and FFM compared to subjects with good sleep quality and experienced an improvement of all these parameters after VLCKD.

In addition, subjects with good sleep quality were more physically active than subjects with poor sleep quality. Interestingly PSQI score was significantly associated with weight, BMI, WC, FM, FFM and hs-CRP levels at the baseline and at the end of the study while PhA was negatively associated with PSQI score only at baseline.

Among these factors the most determinant factor that oversaw improvement of sleep quality was the reduction of FM. As well known, FM and in particular abdominal fat is the main sources of secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-α [ 36 ].

IL-1β and TNF-α play a role in the physiological regulation of sleep in both animals and humans, and whose secretion follows a circadian rhythm, with the highest IL-6 and TNF-α secretion during the night between and h [ 39 ], in particular being involved in the slow-wave sleep SWS [ 40 ].

In addition, subjects with obesity have a narrow upper airway, typically determined by fat deposition in the parapharyngeal fat pads and pharyngeal muscles that could be responsible of sleep disturbances [ 41 ].

The reduction of FM experienced in the studied subjects could also contribute to enlarge upper airway thus improving sleep quality. In addition, ketone bodies and in particular β-hydroxybutyrate β-OHB has been reported to inhibit histone deacetylases HDACs 1, 3, and 4 in human embryonic kidney cells [ 42 ].

HDAC 4 participate to a signaling cascade that regulates sleep and wakefulness and the reduction of its activity has been associated to increased sleep [ 43 ].

Our study has several strengths but also limitations. First, this pilot study of a large adult population has been carried out in a single center that may have introduced some selection bias.

Nevertheless, considering the clear gender differences in sleep quality, we try to reach population homogeneity enrolling only women in reproductive age that were assessed at the same menstrual phase. As a pilot study, we limit our observations to the end of the active stage, and we did not consider the subsequent VLCKD stages.

This is because the very short observation period avoid patient drop out. In addition, Although we cannot exclude if the improvement of sleep quality was due to VLCKD per se o to weight loss or to both of them, our study highlights that VLCKD improved sleep quality, and this excludes that this nutritional pattern could have a null or even harmful effect on these parameters.

Even if sleep quality was assessed by a questionnaire, the strengths of using this tool were: 1 it was a validated questionnaire already used in several studies; 2 it was administered by the same nutritionist both at the baseline and follow up in order to reduce any bias.

Finally, although we had no quantitative data on adherence to VLCKD, the nutritionist provided weekly telephone counselling and guided the participants in performing capillary blood tests to measure ketosis.

All women had positive blood ketone test results, suggesting compliance with diet recommendations. In conclusion, VLCKD determined an improvement of sleep quality in women with overweight and obesity, that was mostly mediated by the reduction of FM related to this nutritional protocol.

Overall, this study highlights the potential benefits of VLCKD not only in managing obesity and metabolic disorders but also in improving sleep quality in women with overweight or obesity. It underscores the importance of considering sleep quality as a relevant outcome and a potential target for intervention in the context of obesity management.

However, further studies are needed to confirm these promising results that potentially could lead to make VLCKD a suitable nutritional approach in subjects with obesity and sleep disturbances.

Gohil A, Hannon TS. Poor sleep and obesity: concurrent epidemics in adolescent youth. Front Endocrinol Lausanne. Article PubMed Google Scholar. Chen Y, Tan F, Wei L, Li X, Lyu Z, Feng X, et al.

Sleep duration and the risk of cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis including dose-response relationship. BMC Cancer.

Journal of Diey Medicine volume 21Article number: Low-calorie diet for improving sleep quality this article. Vor details. Obesity Home injury prevention a condition that is often associated with sleep disorders, including reduced sleep quality SQ. Very low calorie ketogenic diet VLCKD has proven to be effective in the management of obesity and associated metabolic disorders. However, little is still known about the effects of this promising nutritional protocol on SQ. We include Lpw-calorie we Younger-looking complexion are useful Vitamin-packed bites our qquality. If you buy through links on Low-calofie page, we may quslity a small commission. Medical News Today only shows you brands and products that we stand behind. Sleep affects every aspect of health. Fortunately, some foods and drinks contain compounds that help control parts of the sleep cycle, meaning that they may help a person both fall and stay asleep.