Weight loss and protein diet improves sleep quality

Overweight and obese individuals who are losing weight whilst adhering to a high protein diet will benefit from high quality sleep. This is the finding from a recent study conducted at Purdue University in Indiana, USA. Whilst many studies have looked into the effect of sleep on diet and weight control, this research aimed to reverse the viewpoints and see if particular diets and weight loss, specifically protein controlled diets, had any effect on sleep patterns and quality. The main study involved 44 participants, half of whom were given a normal protein diet, whilst the others were given a high protein diet. They were then given a survey on sleep quality to complete, and after 3 to 4 months of dietary intervention, the group on the high-protein diet that were also losing weight reported an overall better quality of sleep than their counterparts.

Jing Zhou, the lead author explained that short sleep duration and poor quality sleep can lead to metabolic and cardiovascular disturbances, and by better understanding how changes to lifestyle and diet can affect sleep we can help improve the health of different populations. Sleep is a very important modifier of an individual’s health, and the team that carried out this research are hoping to continue in the same vein and complete more objective measurements of sleep quality in order to confirm their results.