Ultra-Processed Diet Linked to Higher Insomnia Risk: Which Foods Disrupt Your Sleep?

A new study discovered a substantial association between eating ultra-processed foods (UPF) and an increased risk of sleeplessness. This demonstrates that what you eat can influence how well you sleep.

What Ultra-Processed Foods Do to Your Sleep

The results were published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. It discovered that eating UPF is linked to chronic insomnia, regardless of lifestyle, dietary quality, mental health, or sociodemographic variables.

Doctor Marie-Pierre St-Onge, who works in Columbia University's Division of General Medicine and the Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research, underlined the need to know how current eating behaviors affect sleep. With so many people having difficulty falling asleep and adequately prepared meals becoming increasingly popular, studying the link between nutrition and sleep quality is critical. In contrast to prior studies mainly focusing on specific ingredients, this one looked at eating habits and food processing levels.

The St-Onge team was already aware that high-carb diets raise the risk of insomnia, but healthy eating habits, such as the Mediterranean diet, reduce the risk. Numerous health concerns, including diabetes, obesity, and cancer, have previously been linked to increased UPF consumption worldwide. This new study adds to what we know about how UPFs affect sleep.

Researchers used information from the NutriNet-Santé cohort study, which included over 39,000 French people, to examine what they ate and how they slept. Participants who said they had chronic insomnia used more energy from UPFs. This link was seen in both men and women, though the risk was slightly higher in men.

Foods That Disrupt Sleep

Some health problems and ways of living can make sleeping hard, but what you eat significantly impacts how well you sleep. These things are known to make it harder to sleep:

Ultra-Processed Foods: The sugars and fats in fast food and ready-made meals can make sleeping difficult. A higher intake of processed foods is linked to worse sleep quality and less sleep time.

Sugary Foods: White rice, potatoes, and candy all raise blood sugar, which can mess up chemicals that make it hard to sleep. Also, high-GI foods can worsen inflammation and change the bacteria in your gut, making it harder to sleep.

Alcohol: Some people may be able to fall asleep faster when they drink alcohol, but it messes up the circadian cycle and lowers the quality of REM sleep, which means you wake up a lot and don't get enough rest overall.

Spicy foods: Eating spicy foods can give you heartburn, bloating, or both, making it hard to sleep. They also make you hot, which makes it even harder to sleep.

Fatty Foods: Eating a lot of fat can slow digestion, making you uncomfortable and making it hard to sleep. Studies have found a link between eating a lot of fat and sleeping less and for shorter periods.

Caffeine: Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, chocolate, energy drinks, and soda. It wakes up the brain and can make it take longer to fall asleep, stay asleep, and sleep better. The FDA says you shouldn't drink over 400 milligrams of coffee daily.

Ultra-Processed Foods are Becoming More Significant Concerns

In the last twenty years, people have eaten a lot more UPFs. An NYU School of Global Public Health study shows that UPFs are now a big part of the American diet. This move toward processed foods is linked to a worse diet and a higher chance of chronic diseases, such as obesity.

Filippa Juul, the lead author, stressed the need for measures that encourage whole foods and lower UPF consumption. The outbreak made people rely even more on shelf-stable, less healthy foods, worsening the problem.

Eating less UPF and more whole foods can help you sleep better and be healthier overall. More research is needed to show cause and effect and investigate long-term effects, but people with trouble sleeping might benefit from examining their eating habits to see if they can be improved.