Fruits eating “significantly” enhances sleep efficiency

Medical conditions and work commitments can severely affect sleep quality, but these issues can be mitigated through the right lifestyle changes.

Some health organizations encourage fruit consumption to improve the duration and quality of sleep.

The unique nutritional properties of cherries and kiwi fruit, for example, have been shown to improve overall sleep efficiency.
A study published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition highlights the benefits of kiwi for sleep.

According to the study, kiwi fruit contains a group of medicinal compounds that include antioxidants and serotonin.

Both molecules have proven useful in treating sleep disorders, helping to improve sleep onset, duration, and quality.

This conclusion was reached after scientists conducted a study on a sample of twenty-four people between the ages of 20 and 55.

All participants ate a kiwifruit an hour before bed each night over a four-week period while various measures of sleep were assessed.

After four weeks, the patients showed a reduced time to wake up after onset of sleep and a decrease in the time it took to fall asleep.

The scientists noted that “total sleep time and sleep efficiency increased significantly.” They concluded that “kiwifruit consumption may improve sleep onset, duration, and sleep efficiency in adults with self-reported sleep disorders.”

Although further investigations are warranted to confirm these effects, there are plausible explanations for the sleep-promoting effect of kiwifruit.

First, the serotonin content in kiwifruit has been shown to play a unique role in regulating sleep cycles. This is because it is a precursor chemical to melatonin, the main hormone responsible for inducing sleep.
More research is needed to understand the role of antioxidants in promoting sleep, but studies have shown that low levels of antioxidants are associated with poor sleep.

Dr. Michael Breus, clinical psychologist and sleep medicine expert, added: “Kiwi is not the only food that has the potential to promote sleep. There are a number of other foods that can help with sleep. Foods rich in magnesium and potassium help promote relaxation and circulation, and they include “Dark leafy greens, bananas, nuts, seeds, citrus fruits, tomatoes, whole grains. Calcium-rich foods help increase melatonin levels.”

Another sleep-promoting fruit often mentioned by health authorities is tart cherry.

And in one pilot study led by Louisiana State University, tart cherry juice extended the sleep time of older insomniacs by 84 minutes.

Not only does the fruit contain antioxidants, but studies show that it is one of the only food sources of the sleep hormone melatonin.