People who sleep very little or a lot tend to consume less of certain nutrients like vitamin C, selenium, and tap water, while those who sleep a lot also tend to consume less choline and theobromine, indicating different dietary habits for different sleep patterns.
Evidence from Studies
No evidence studies found yet.
What Would Prove This
Per GRADE and EBM methodology, here is what ideal scientific evidence would look like to definitively prove or disprove this claim, ordered from strongest to weakest.
A systematic review could determine whether consistent associations between specific nutrient intakes (e.g., vitamin C, choline) and sleep duration exist across multiple prospective studies.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 20+ prospective cohort studies measuring daily intake of vitamin C, selenium, choline, and theobromine via validated food records and objectively measured sleep duration (actigraphy) over 3+ years in adults aged 25–65.
An RCT could determine whether supplementing vitamin C or choline alters sleep duration in adults with habitual short or long sleep.
A double-blind RCT of 150 adults with habitual short sleep (<6 h) randomized to 500 mg/day vitamin C or placebo for 8 weeks, and 150 adults with habitual long sleep (>9 h) randomized to 550 mg/day choline or placebo, measuring sleep duration via actigraphy and nutrient biomarkers.
A cohort study could determine whether low intake of vitamin C or choline predicts future development of short or long sleep patterns.
A 7-year prospective cohort study of 8,000 adults aged 30–55 with annual dietary assessments (3-day food records) and biannual actigraphy-based sleep monitoring, testing whether baseline vitamin C or choline intake predicts incident short or long sleep.
A case-control study could compare nutrient intake histories in adults with persistent short sleep versus those with normal sleep, matched for confounders.
A case-control study comparing 400 adults with self-reported short sleep (<5 h) for ≥3 years to 800 matched controls with normal sleep (7–8 h), using validated food frequency questionnaires to assess lifetime intake of vitamin C, selenium, and choline.
A cross-sectional study can confirm whether specific nutrient intakes differ across sleep duration groups at a single point in time.
A nationally representative cross-sectional survey using 24-hour dietary recalls and actigraphy in 10,000 U.S. adults to compare intake of vitamin C, selenium, choline, and theobromine across sleep duration categories.