When you hear your doctor nag you about what you should and should not be eating, they have a valid point. The kind of food and how much you eat play significant roles in various aspects of health. Diets, whether good or bad, affect all organ systems. The integumentary, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, reproductive, and endocrine systems are all broad examples. For years researchers have been studying the relationships between our bodies and food. To this day are still making new and significant revelations that benefit us. Their findings are important because we must stay educated and up-to-date on what keeps us healthy! One surprising fact about the importance of diet is that it affects our nervous systems more than one typically thinks. It is hard to grasp at first but becomes slightly obvious when one remembers that the brain is the body's powerhouse. All our organs rely on our brain, and if one is not giving the brain its proper nutrients, everything goes downhill. With the body beginning to shut down due to the lack of vital nutrients, metabolism, hormone imbalance, and even sleep difficulty are all affected. Sleep and diet go together hand in hand as they have a direct relationship with one another.
As mentioned, a plethora of modern-day researchers study the relationship between food and sleep. One paper in particular that studies the relationship between nutrition in diets and sleep disruption is by Samuel J. Bowers et al., titled “A Prebiotic Diet Alters the Fecal Microbiome and Improves Sleep in Response to Sleep Disruption in Rats.” Bowers and his team discuss the issues of sleep deprivation and disruption as the issue in their paper they are trying to study and resolve. They also claim (as many other studies do) that sleep deprivation leads to many health issues. That inspires their research on whether the minimization of sleep deprivation and restoration of sleep is possible in mammals (Bowers et al., 2022). To test those questions, Bowers and his team develop a hypothesis that tests to see if implementing supplements with prebiotics in the diet of male rats will treat their sleep deprivation (Bowers et al., 2022). The prebiotics used are galactooligosaccharides (GOS) and polydextrose (PDX). Their research consists of running experiments with a control group (male rats consuming their regular diets in similar environmental settings) and an experimental group (male rats on the prebiotic diet). They observed that with the experimental group, there were increases in NREM and REM during sleep and that during sleep disruption, the mice succeeded in staying asleep (Bowers et al., 2022). They also observed a change in the fecal microbiome (Bowers et al., 2022) that shows that the nutrients were present in the mice’s systems. Bowers and his team displayed that it is possible to aid sleep by implementing better nutrients in the diet of rats. Now rats are not the only ones who benefit from better sleep with a better diet. Humans do too. Some researchers make similar observations as Bowers and his team but on humans instead.
In a news article titled “Can your eating habits affect the quality of your sleep?” published by The Indian Express, the article takes research done at John Hopkins and discusses what foods should and should not be eaten throughout the day for better sleep. Foods that are spicy, acidic, high in carbohydrates, and low in protein, are not ideal because they cause distress to the stomach and lead to disturbances in sleep (The Indian Express 2022). The article also mentions that there are solutions to sleep better at night. However, those solutions relate to our diets, so it is important to know both what and when you should eat. Protein-rich foods are a good choice to eat before bed. When we sleep, our muscles go into a catabolic state and feed on themselves to gain nutrition and recover (The Indian Express 2022). Complex carbohydrates also prove to have positive effects on sleeping ability. Consuming carbohydrates like oats and wheat both digest easily and release hormones, so eating them before can contribute to a better night’s rest (The Indian Express 2022). These findings relate to what Bowers and his team discuss in their research paper. Including important nutrients in the diet are necessary not only for the health of our organs and bodily systems but for our sleep as well. It is important to eat well to sleep well and sleep well to be well.
Now the point of this blog is to educate on the benefits of a balanced diet with proper nutrition when it comes to sleep. Food is important. Diet is important. Trust me, we all want to look like beauty queens, so one way to get started is by considering the factors that contribute to good beauty rests. Eating better helps you sleep better, and sleeping better helps you feel better and look better! Also, it is critical that you maintain a healthy relationship with food. That also is vital for your brain and the rest of your body. I hope this blog can give you some insight into not only feeling better but looking better too. We all have to start somewhere. Soon enough, if you repair your sleeping habits with the proper diet, you will get all the stares from people as you walk by.
Works Cited
Bowers, Samuel J., et al. “A Prebiotic Diet Alters the Fecal Microbiome and Improves Sleep in Response to Sleep Disruption in Rats.” Frontiers in Neuroscience, vol. 16, 2022, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.889211.
“Can Your Eating Habits Affect the Quality of Your Sleep?” The Indian Express, 19 Nov. 2022, https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/health/how-do-eating-habits-affect-your-sleep-8146673/.
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