“You are what you eat,” the saying goes, but is what you eat playing a role in how much you sleep? According to a study by the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, diet may influence sleep duration. People who report eating a large variety of foods—an indicator of an overall healthy diet—had the healthiest sleep patterns.
Researchers studied the sleep and eating habits of respondents of the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which includes demographic, socioeconomic, dietary and health-related questions. They categorized people by the amount of sleep they receive, from very short to long.
Short sleepers consumed the most calories, drank the least amount of water and ate fewer fruits and vegetables. Long sleepers drank more alcohol.
