Tart Cherry Juice Won’t Cure Insomnia

Drink tart cherry juice every morning and evening and at best you may see slight improvements in your sleep.

A small pilot study shows the healthy beverage can help fight sleeplessness for certain people, but it’s no replacement for front line insomnia treatments. Tart cherry juice may be useful as a supplement to sleep hygiene and cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Tart cherries contain melatonin, a natural hormone that regulates sleep. Melatonin supplements have produced mixed results for insomnia patients in past studies. They may benefit some people, but melatonin supplements aren't the mythical "magic bullet" for sleep.

The latest pilot study, published in the July issue of The Journal of Medical Food, pitted tart cherry juice against a placebo beverage. Only 15 adult insomnia patients drank an 8 oz. glass of tart cherry twice a day for two weeks. After a two week break, they began to regularly consume a placebo drink. The participants kept a sleep diary to track their insomnia throughout the study.

The subjects spent fewer overall minutes awake after initially falling asleep when they drank the tart cherry juice. Otherwise the effects were negligible. It still took the same amount of time to get to sleep, and the total sleep time did not improve.

The results were similar to valerian or melatonin, other slightly effective natural remedies. The authors concluded cognitive behavioral therapy and sleeping pills are far better treatments for sleeplessness.

The good news is eating or drinking tart cherries is great for other aspects of your health. The so-called “super fruit” contains high levels of antioxidants and other nutrients such as vitamin C, beta carotene and potassium.

Photo by Larry Page

Obese short-sleepers eat out often, prefer fatty food

A large Japanese study suggests eating habits are only part of the reason why short sleep duration is interconnected with obesity. Findings published in the May issue of SLEEP show short sleep and high Body Mass Index are linked to a tendency to eat out and a taste for fatty foods. The authors suggest other unknown biologic factors are also at play.

Researchers reached this conclusion using a statistical analysis based on the results of a questionnaire about lifestyle combined with data from annual health checkups. About 3,800 white collar male employees at a Japanese energy company, ages 40 to 59, participated in the study.

The survey contained mostly “yes or no” questions about sleep length, dietary patterns, health history, exercise and substance use.

People categorized as short sleepers (6 hours or less) tended to weigh more and exercise less. The same group was also more likely to prefer fatty food, frequently snack and eat out more. Those dietary habits were also associated with high BMI, a characteristic of obesity.

Based on previous research, the authors state other physiological functions may also drive the relationship between sleep duration and obesity. Other studies have linked sleep restriction to levels of the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin.

The study does have some shortcomings as noted by the authors. Women did not participate due to privacy concerns. The findings may not apply to everyone because the study only included middle-aged Japanese men. The measure for sleep duration was self-reported by participants and may not be true in all cases.

Read more about sleep and obesity and sleep and weight gain.

Sleep May Help You Eat Healthier

A new study examined the relationships between sleep, job strain and food choices.

The Harvard study involved 542 men; their average age was 49 years. They were all motor freight workers who often work long hours and have irregular shifts.

Results show that 51 percent reported getting adequate sleep. Almost 88 percent were satisfied with their job; about 30 percent reported job strain.

Statistical analysis found that adequate sleep was associated with lack of job strain and healthful eating choices. Work experiences also were related to healthful food choices; but the effect was no longer significant when adequate sleep was included in the model.

The authors concluded that adequate sleep is associated with more healthful food choices; sleep also may mediate the effects of workplace experiences. As a result workplace health programs should be responsive to workers' sleep patterns.

“Our findings suggest that sleep adequacy, by enhancing helpful dietary choices, is one means by which workplace factors may influence chronic disease risk,” they wrote.

In September the Sleep Education Blog reported that eating when you should be sleeping may lead to weight gain.

Other studies also have found that how long you sleep may affect how you eat. You may crave more high-calorie, high-carbohydrate foods when you are tired.

What about you – do you eat healthier foods when you are well rested?

Image by barbarina

You Eat How You Sleep?

A new study adds to the evidence linking sleep duration with the risk of obesity. It finds that how long you sleep may affect how you eat.

The small study at the University of Chicago involved 11 healthy volunteers. Each participant stayed at a sleep laboratory two times for 14 days each time. During one stay they spent 8.5 hours in bed each night. During the other stay they spent only 5.5 hours in bed each night.

They had easy access to food during both stays in the lab. The study measured their intake of calories from meals and snacks.

Results show that they ate similar meals during both sleep conditions. But they consumed more calories from snacks when their sleep was restricted. Their snacks during sleep restriction also had a higher content of carbohydrates. Snacking increased the most between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

This was similar to a previous study that linked sleep restriction to the levels of the appetite-regulating hormones leptin and ghrelin. Other studies also have linked sleep duration to obesity and diabetes.

What about you – do you snack more when you sleep less?