Reviewed Diettian Jessica Ball, MS, Rd
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The main points
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A new study shows that walnuts can improve sleep and melatonin levels.
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The study participants ate about 1/2 cup of walnuts for eight weeks each day.
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Add walnuts to snack mixtures, salads and breakfast dishes or snacks on their solo.
Poor sleep can affect almost anything, and research has linked it to health conditions such as obesity and heart disease. Interestingly, research shows that poor sleep also involves unhealthy eating habits. It is concerned that studies show that eating of healthier diets, especially those with a lot of plant foods such as nuts, can improve sleep quality.
Many nuts are a natural source of tryptophan-amino acids, which help to produce melatonin-hormone responsible for regulating our sleep-life cycle. Nuts, especially in walnuts, also contain plant melatonin, which has been proven to increase the amount of melatonin in the body after administration. This makes them a promising natural opportunity to improve sleep, but there was a knowledge gap as to whether walnuts actually affect sleep parameters.
In order to investigate the potential benefits of walnut sleep, researchers designed the study to find out if eating them regularly is associated with better sleep habits and increased 6-SMT levels, melatonin marker, young adults. These results have been published Food and function;
How was this study done?
This study was created as an 18 -week randomized crossover to investigate whether regular walnuts could improve sleep quality. Young adults aged 20 to 35 were employed, and after the selection, 76 participants completed the study.
The participants were accidentally distributed into one of two groups. During the intervention phase, participants used 40 grams of walnuts daily with dinner for eight weeks. The walnuts were presented in pre -made packaging, and the participants were tasked with avoiding other products made by other nuts or nuts. In the control phase, participants refrained for eight weeks with the use of any nuts or nuts. After completing one phase, the participants had a 2 -week wash period before moving to the next phase.
Throughout the study, all participants followed the Mediterranean diet and received sleep hygiene recommendations such as caffeine and alcohol avoidance in the evening, restricting the screen time before bed and maintaining a consistent sleep and meal schedule.
To evaluate the quality of sleep, the participants wore their wrist carrying a portable accumulator monitor for seven consecutive days. These devices follow sleep habits, level of activity, skin temperature and light effect. During the study, the participants also provided urine samples to measure 6-alfatoximelatonin (6-SMT), melatonin production marker. Researchers used data collected to analyze the potential relationships between nuts consumption and sleep results.
Walnut samples were analyzed to estimate their tryptophan and melatonin levels. Researchers have also investigated the ratio of tryptophan and other large neutral amino acids (CAA) as a higher ratio can increase the ability of tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier and promote sleep.
What did the study find?
This study revealed that eating 40 grams of walnuts for eight weeks daily had significantly improved sleep quality and melatonin production. (40 grams of walnuts for snacks would be just less than ½ cup sides of walnut or about 20 sides of walnut.)
Walnuts were found to be a rich source of sleep -stimulating nutrients, an average of 84.6 mg tryptophan and 118.0 ng melatonin per serving. The ratio of triptophan and competing amino acids (CAA) in walnuts was 0.058. This ratio is important because a higher ratio helps the triptophane cross the blood-brain barrier, where it can be turned into melatonin, the authors say.
Investigators, who were mostly young women with an average of 24 -year -olds, launched a trial, whose initial global sleep quality score was 2.8 out of 4, meaning that their sleep quality was moderate but had opportunities to improve. After eight weeks of use of walnuts, participants have experienced several noticeable sleep models:
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Sleep delay or time to fall asleep has declined significantly.
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Sleep efficiency, which measures the percentage of time in the bed spent actually sleep, increased by 0.7%after eight weeks of use of walnut.
While it may seem like a small change, even a slight improvement in sleep efficiency can have a significant effect on the overall quality of sleep. After analyzing urine samples, the study also found that walnuts were associated with significantly increased production of melatonin. In addition to improving sleep delay and efficiency, walnuts were also associated with reduced daytime sleepiness. Researchers say walnuts can have a cumulative effect on overall sleep quality, even if some individual parameters have remained unchanged.
While this study provides valuable insights, several restrictions must be taken into account. First, since the intervention covered walnut eating, it was difficult to close the participants – meaning they knew whether they were walnuts or in the control phase. This may have influenced their behavior or perception. In addition, the study disagreed with the participants’ common diets, which means that they ate during the intervention and may have influenced the results. Another restriction is that the study did not observe how many triptophan or melatonin participants from other foods, which may have influenced conclusions.
It is also important to note that the project was funded by the California Walnut Commission and the Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety Research at the University of Barcelona. However, neither the California walnut commission nor the institute had any role in investigating, analyzing or interpreting data.
How does it apply to real life?
If you are someone who struggles with falling asleep or sleep, this study offers a simple and natural strategy that needs to be taken into account: adding walnuts to your diet. The findings of this study show that walnuts, which are a source of tryptophan and melatonin, can help improve sleep quality by maintaining a natural sleeping cycle of the body. Eating just 40 grams of walnuts daily or a handful can help you fall asleep faster, sleep more efficiently and even feel less gloomy during the day.
And you don’t need to eat walnuts on your own – recruit them in a beautiful salad, a simple pathway mixture, a cozy oatmeal breakfast, or yogurt parafait with fruit. We also like to prepare them with a little sugar and spices, such as our spice toast in a walnut recipe if you like snack on seasoned nuts.
However, it is important to remember that sleep challenges can be due to a variety of factors such as stress, health problems or lifestyle habits. While walnuts may not be a magical solution for everyone, they can be a simple, nutritious choice that could complement another healthy sleep practice, such as maintaining a consistent sleep and restricting screen time before bed. Walnuts are particularly practical is how easy it is to add them to your daily routine, no matter how a snack, salad or dinner. While they may not examine each sleep problem, they can be useful for supplementing your tool kit to better rest.
Our expert is taking
This study has been published Food and function Emphasizes walnut potential as a natural way to maintain a better sleep. While eating 40 grams of walnuts every day for eight weeks, the participants experienced an improvement in how quickly they fell asleep, how effectively they slept and even felt during the day during the day. The study also found that walnuts have increased melatonin production, especially in the evening, which is the key to starting sleep. These data show that walnuts can be a simple and accessible addition to a healthy lifestyle for those who want to improve their sleep quality.
Read the original article about Eatingwell