New research links ultra-processed foods to chronic insomnia, highlighting the key role that diet plays in sleep quality.
A new study suggests that ultra-processed foods, already known to contribute to health problems like heart disease and diabetes, may also be linked to chronic insomnia.
Ultra-processed foods include foods that have been extensively modified to improve taste, extend shelf life, or facilitate mass production, as opposed to minimally processed foods such as fruits and vegetables.
The study, conducted by researchers at Sorbonne Paris Nord University in France, analyzed data from 38,570 adults in the NutriNet-Santé research project, linking eating habits to sleep patterns.
At a time when more and more food is highly processed and sleep disorders are widespread, it’s important to assess whether diet can contribute to poor or good sleep quality, says Marie-Pierre St-Onge, a nutrition and sleep scientist at Columbia University in the US.
The results are more pronounced in men
The results indicated a significant association between higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and an increased risk of chronic insomnia, even after adjusting for sociodemographics, lifestyle, diet quality, and mental health variables. Participants got 16 percent of their daily energy from ultra-processed foods, and 19.4 percent reported symptoms of chronic insomnia, with this group consuming more ultra-processed foods.
The connection among men was somewhat stronger. Despite the cross-sectional and observational nature of the study, which assessed data over one time period and relied on self-report, the larger sample size suggests that this relationship is worthy of further investigation.
It is important to note that our analyzes are observational in nature and we did not assess the longitudinal association, says epidemiologist Pauline Duquenne of Sorbonne University Paris Nord.
An ambiguity that still remains
The aforementioned research, which is published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, adds to existing knowledge about ultra-processed foods, although it does not establish causality. Given the established links between diet and sleep, it is not surprising that such foods may affect the risk of chronic insomnia. Previous research has shown that a Mediterranean diet is associated with a lower risk of insomnia, which is the opposite effect of ultra-processed foods.
It is not clear why ultra-processed foods may contribute to insomnia. Although the link between these foods and weight gain is easier to understand because of their high calorie content, more research is needed to investigate how these foods may interfere with sleep.
In the future, prospective epidemiological, as well as clinical and experimental research, could improve the knowledge about the pathways of causation and mediation, say the authors of the mentioned research.
