Plant-based diets: Reducing cardiovascular risk by improving sleep quality?

Abstract

Purpose of review: The goal of this review is to evaluate recent research related to the effects of plant-based diets on sleep patterns. We discuss plausible mechanisms for the link between plant-based diets and sleep, and provide suggestions for future research in this area.

Recent findings: Short sleep duration and poor sleep quality have been shown to negatively affect individual dietary habits, through enhanced appetite, increased overall caloric intake, as well as lower diet quality. Emerging data also indicate a novel bi-directional association by which dietary choices may also influence sleep duration and quality, but little is known about dietary patterns and their influence on sleep. Epidemiological studies report associations between Mediterranean diet eating patterns and sleep quality, suggesting a benefit of plant-rich diet consumption on sleep. The high isoflavone and tryptophan content of these diets may be a mechanism by which plant foods may enhance sleep quality.

Summary: Plant-based diets may provide additional benefits to health via their potential effects on sleep quality. Research is needed to establish a causal relation between a plant-rich dietary pattern and sleep health.

Keywords: Mediterranean diet; cardiovascular disease risk; plant-based diet; sleep; tryptophan.

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Allison Crawford declares no conflicts of interest. Marie-Pierre St-Onge reports grants from American Heart Association, grants from National Institutes of Health, during the conduct of the study; Brooke Aggarwal reports grants from the American Heart Association, during the conduct of the study. Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Figures

Figure 1

Novel pathway through which plant-based diets may influence sleep and cardiovascular risk. A plant-based diet may lead to increased levels of the amino acid tryptophan, leading to increased melatonin and serotonin metabolites, enhancing sleep quality and quantity, and thus reducing cardiovascular risk.

Figure 2

Poor sleep can adversely affect cardiovascular health directly or indirectly, via changes in dietary quality (A). A novel proposition is that a healthy diet can affect cardiovascular disease risk directly and indirectly, via improvements in sleep (B).