Abstract
Night workers tend to eat irregularly, both in terms of meal times and composition. The disruption in energy metabolism caused by inappropriate eating habits can negatively affect the sleep quality of these individuals. The objectives of this study were to determine the interval between the last meal and bedtime and its relationship with both diurnal and nocturnal sleep parameters, as well as to evaluate the association of the adequacy of this meal with sleep parameters. The analyses were carried out for a usual sleep routine on a workday and a day off. This cross-sectional study was part of a controlled, randomized, double-blind, crossover clinical trial. The sample comprised 30 female nursing professionals who worked permanent night shifts of 12 × 36 h. Timing and composition of the last meal were obtained from food diaries, and sleep parameters were collected via actigraphy. On multiple linear regression analysis, every hour decrease in the interval between the last meal and sleep onset there was an increase of 0.39 h on diurnal sleep duration. Regarding food intake, every 1 g of fat and 1 g of carbohydrate consumed was associated with an increase in diurnal sleep onset latency of 0.13 h and 0.02 h, respectively. These findings suggest that both timing and composition of the last meal before bedtime may be potential key factors for good diurnal and nocturnal sleep among night-shift workers.
Highlights
Heterogeneous findings regarding the influence of diet composition on the sleep of night workers may be associated with meal timing [1]
This study found that a shorter interval between the last meal and sleep onset was associated with an increase in the duration of diurnal sleep of overweight night shift workers
Higher macronutrient consumption during the last meal before sleep onset was associated with higher sleep onset latency (SOL) for diurnal sleep
Summary
Heterogeneous findings regarding the influence of diet composition on the sleep of night workers may be associated with meal timing [1] This issue is attracting growing research interest and is especially relevant in the context of dietary patterns of permanent night workers, a group subject to chronic circadian misalignment [2]. Most studies on the subject have failed to compare differences in patterns of daily calorie intake between night workers and permanent day workers These groups differ in the distribution of meals over a 24-h period, where night workers tend to eat irregularly during their shifts, consuming carbohydrates and high-fat snacks [3,4]. These hormones act as metabolic signals for peripheral tissues and influence peripheral oscillators [4]
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