Eat Your Veggies, Sleep Better: Diet Directly Impacts Rest

Simple Dietary Changes Could Unlock Deeper, More Restful Sleep

Struggling to get a good night’s rest? The answer might be simpler – and tastier – than you think. New research reveals a direct link between daily fruit and vegetable intake and improved sleep quality, offering a natural and accessible path to better rest.

Dietary Choices and Nighttime Recovery

Scientists have long known that poor sleep can lead to unhealthy eating habits, with individuals often craving foods high in fat and sugar when sleep-deprived. However, a recent study led by researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine and Columbia University has flipped the script, demonstrating that *what* you eat during the day significantly influences how well you sleep that very night.

The study involved healthy young adults who tracked their food consumption using an app and wore wrist monitors to objectively measure their sleep patterns. Researchers focused on “sleep fragmentation,” a measure of how often someone wakes or shifts between sleep stages throughout the night.

“Dietary modifications could be a new, natural and cost-effective approach to achieve better sleep. The temporal associations and objectively-measured outcomes in this study represent crucial steps toward filling a gap in important public health knowledge.”

—Esra Tasali, MD, co-senior author, director of the UChicago Sleep Center

According to the CDC, over 35% of adults in the United States report sleeping less than the recommended seven hours per night. CDC Sleep Data This widespread sleep deprivation underscores the importance of finding effective, accessible solutions.

Significant Improvements with Simple Changes

The research team discovered a clear correlation: those who consumed more fruits and vegetables, along with healthy carbohydrates like whole grains, experienced deeper, less interrupted sleep. The data suggests that meeting the CDC’s recommendation of five cups of fruits and vegetables daily could lead to a remarkable 16 percent improvement in sleep quality.

Esra Tasali emphasized the significance of this finding, stating, “16 percent is a highly significant difference. It’s remarkable that such a meaningful change could be observed within less than 24 hours.”

Further research will explore the underlying mechanisms – how digestion, neurology, and metabolism interact to produce these benefits – and expand the study to include more diverse populations. However, current evidence strongly supports a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables for optimal sleep health.

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

“Higher daytime intake of fruits and vegetables predicts less disrupted nighttime sleep in younger adults” was published in Sleep Health: The Journal of the National Sleep Foundation in June 2025. Co-authors include Hedda L. Boege (Columbia), Katherine D. Wilson (University of California San Diego), Jennifer M. Kilkus (UChicago), Waveley Qiu (Columbia), Bin Cheng (Columbia), Kristen E. Wroblewski (UChicago), Becky Tucker (UChicago), Esra Tasali (UChicago), and Marie-Pierre St-Onge (Columbia). The work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (R01HL142648, R35HL155670, UL1TR001873, CTSA-UL1TR0002389, UL1TR002389, R01DK136214, T32HL007605), and the Diabetes Research and Training Center at the University of Chicago.