Eating More Fruits and Veggies Could Improve Your Sleep

Sleep disruptions and poor sleep quality can have widespread negative effects on a person's health, impacting areas such as cardiovascular and metabolic health, memory, learning, productivity, mood regulation and interpersonal relationships.

While some swear by the age-old trick of counting sheep or using white noise machines to get a good night's sleep, a new study suggests an often-overlooked solution: eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

The research is published in Sleep Health: The Journal of the National Sleep Foundation.

The connection between diet and sleep

The study, led by researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine and Columbia University, explored how dietary habits influence sleep quality.

Their findings indicate that eating more fruits and vegetables during the day may improve sleep quality as early as that very night. This study is the first to establish a temporal link between daily food intake and the quality of sleep measured the same evening.

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

Previous research had demonstrated that poor sleep often leads to unhealthy dietary choices, typically when involving foods high in fat and sugar. However, there was only a very limited understanding of how diet influences sleep, particularly in real-time contexts. 

Participants in this study were healthy young adults who tracked their daily food intake using a smartphone app while wearing wrist monitors that measured their sleep patterns. Researchers focused on "sleep fragmentation," a metric that quantifies the frequency of awakenings or shifts from deep to light sleep during the night. 

Get your 5-a-day if you want 40 winks 

The results were clear: participants who consumed more fruits and vegetables during the day experienced deeper, more uninterrupted sleep. The same effect was observed in those who ate more healthy carbohydrates, such as whole grains. These results suggest that diet can directly influence sleep quality, with improvements being noticeable within 24 hours.

Statistical analysis from the study estimated that individuals who meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommended intake of five cups of fruits and vegetables daily could see a 16 percent improvement in sleep quality compared to those who do not consume these foods.

Implications and future research

While the findings are promising, further studies are needed to establish causation and to understand the underlying mechanisms that explain the relationship between diet and sleep. These studies will likely focus on digestion, neurology and metabolism to understand why fruits and vegetables specifically improve sleep quality. Researchers also plan to expand their work to include a wider range of participants.

However, the current study's data offers a clear recommendation: adopting a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables is beneficial for long-term sleep health.

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

“People are always asking me if there are things they can eat that will help them sleep better,” added co-senior author Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, director of the Center of Excellence for Sleep & Circadian Research at Columbia. “Small changes can impact sleep. That is empowering — better rest is within your control.”

Reference: Boege HL, Wilson KD, Kilkus JM, et al. Higher daytime intake of fruits and vegetables predicts less disrupted nighttime sleep in younger adults. Sleep Health. 2025:S2352721825000890. doi: 10.1016/j.sleh.2025.05.003

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