Your daily meal selections could influence the quality of your sleep, new research says.

A study from the University of Chicago Medicine and Columbia University found that increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables could help promote more restful sleep.

Previous research has shown that people who lack quality sleep may be more likely to indulge in unhealthy foods that are high in fat and sugar — and now this new finding sheds more light on how consumed foods impact sleep.

COUPLES WHO CUDDLE BEFORE SLEEP REAP KEY HEALTH BENEFITS, STUDY REVEALS

In the small study — which was published in “Sleep Health: The Journal of the National Sleep Foundation” — 34 healthy young adults reported their daily food consumption and wore a tracker to measure how often they woke up or changed sleep patterns during the night, according to a press release.

Those who reported eating more fruits and vegetables during the day were found to have “deeper, more uninterrupted sleep.” 

Greater amounts of healthy carbohydrates, like whole grains, were found to have that same benefit, the study found.

“Dietary modifications could be a new, natural and cost-effective approach to achieve better sleep,” said co-senior author Esra Tasali, MD, director of the UChicago Sleep Center, in the release. 

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST SLEEPING POSITION FOR YOU, ACCORDING TO THE EXPERTS

“The temporal associations and objectively-measured outcomes in this study represent crucial steps toward filling a gap in important public health knowledge.”

Based on the study findings, the researchers concluded that people who eat at least five cups of fruits and veggies per day could have a 16% increase in quality of sleep compared to those who eat none of those foods.

“Small changes can impact sleep. That is empowering — better rest is within your control.”

“16 percent is a highly significant difference,” Tasali said in the release. “It’s remarkable that such a meaningful change could be observed within less than 24 hours.”

“Based on current data, the experts confidently advise that regularly eating a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables is best for long-term sleep health,” the release stated.

Those who reported eating more fruits and vegetables during the day were found to have “deeper, more uninterrupted sleep.”  (iStock)

The American Heart Association provides the following examples of fruit and veggie servings that equate to 1 cup of produce.

• 8 large strawberries
• 1 large bell pepper
• 1 medium potato
• 22 grapes
• 2 medium carrots or 12 baby carrots
• 1 medium apple, orange, pear, peach, grapefruit or nectarine

Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, head sleep expert at Wesper in Michigan, said that most sleep professionals recognize that a healthy diet supports overall well-being, including sleep quality — “so the findings of this study are not entirely unexpected.”

“However, it’s important to note that this was a relatively small study composed primarily of young adult male participants, which limits generalizability,” Rohrscheib, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.  

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

“While the results were statistically significant, the overall reduction in sleep fragmentation was modest, about 16%.”

The study was also observational in nature, she noted, which means it lacked the control of a randomized trial. 

“Based on current data, the experts confidently advise that regularly eating a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables is best for long-term sleep health,” the researchers wrote. (iStock)

“Ideally, future research would compare a group consuming a fruit- and vegetable-rich diet to a control group with limited intake to better establish causality,” the doctor added.

The researchers plan to conduct more studies to confirm that eating produce causes better sleep and to determine the “underlying mechanisms of digestion, neurology and metabolism” driving this impact, the release stated.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health

“People are always asking me if there are things they can eat that will help them sleep better,” said co-senior author Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research at Columbia, in the release. 

“Small changes can impact sleep. That is empowering — better rest is within your control.”

Bill Gates is speaking out about his personal experience with Alzheimer’s — and his hope for progress in fighting the disease.

In an essay published this week on his blog at GatesNotes.com, the Microsoft co-founder and tech billionaire, 69, reflected on the difficulty of spending another Father’s Day without his dad, Bill Gates Sr.

The elder Gates passed away in 2020 at the age of 94 after battling Alzheimer’s.

RATES OF DEMENTIA ARE LOWER IN PEOPLE WHO EAT THIS SPECIFIC DIET, RESEARCH SHOWS

“It was a brutal experience, watching my brilliant, loving father go downhill and disappear,” Gates wrote in the blog post.

Today, motivated by his own experience with the common dementia, Gates — who serves as chair of the Gates Foundation — is committed to working toward a cure for the common dementia, which currently affects more than seven million Americans, or one in nine people over 65.

In his blog, Gates expressed optimism about the “massive progress” being made in the fight against Alzheimer’s and other dementias.

Last year, Gates said he visited Indiana University’s School of Medicine in Indianapolis to tour the labs where teams have been researching Alzheimer’s biomarkers.

BILL GATES LIKELY HAD AUTISM AS A CHILD, HE REVEALS: ‘WASN’T WIDELY UNDERSTOOD’

“I also got the opportunity to look under the hood of new automated machines that will soon be running diagnostics around the world,” he wrote. “It’s an exciting time in a challenging space.”

One of the biggest breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s research, according to Gates, is blood-based diagnostic tests, which detect the ratio of amyloid plaques in the brain. (Amyloid plaques, clumps of protein that accumulate in the brain, are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s.)

Bill Gates Jr. (right) poses with his father at his graduation ceremony in 1973. (Gates family)

“I’m optimistic that these tests will be a game-changer,” Gates wrote. 

Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first blood-based test for patients 55 years and older, as Fox News Digital reported at the time.

“A simple, accurate and easy-to-run blood test might one day make routine screening possible.”

Traditionally, Gates noted, the primary path to Alzheimer’s diagnosis was either a PET scan (medical imaging) or spinal tap (lumbar puncture), which were usually only performed when symptoms emerged.

The hope is that blood-based tests could do a better job of catching the disease early, decline begins.

The Gates family poses for a photo in 1965. The elder Gates passed away in 2020 at the age of 94 after battling Alzheimer’s. (Gates family)

“We now know that the disease begins 15 to 20 years before you start to see any signs,” Gates wrote. 

“A simple, accurate and easy-to-run blood test might one day make routine screening possible, identifying patients long before they experience cognitive decline,” he stated.

Gates said he is often asked, “What is the point of getting diagnosed if I can’t do anything about it?”

To that end, he expressed his optimism for the future of Alzheimer’s treatments, noting that two drugs — Lecanemab (Leqembi) and Donanemab (Kisunla) — have gained FDA approval.

“Both have proven to modestly slow down the progression of the disease, but what I’m really excited about is their potential when paired with an early diagnostic,” Gates noted.

Alzheimer’s disease currently affects more than seven million Americans, or one in nine people over 65. (iStock)

He said he is also hopeful that the blood tests will help speed up the process of enrolling patients in clinical trials for new Alzheimer’s drugs.

To accomplish this, Gates is calling for increased funding for research, which often comes from federal grants.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER

“This is the moment to spend more money on research, not less,” he wrote, also stating that “the quest to stop Alzheimer’s has never had more momentum.”

“There is still a huge amount of work to be done — like deepening our understanding of the disease’s pathology and developing even better diagnostics,” Gates went on. 

“I am blown away by how much we have learned about Alzheimer’s over the last couple of years.”

Advertisement

Gates pointed out that when his father had Alzheimer’s, it was considered a “death sentence,” but that is starting to change.

“I am blown away by how much we have learned about Alzheimer’s over the last couple of years,” he wrote.

For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health

“I cannot help but be filled with a sense of hope when I think of all the progress being made on Alzheimer’s, even with so many challenges happening around the world. We are closer than ever before to a world where no one has to watch someone they love suffer from this awful disease.”

Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.

Use escape to exit the menu.