Most scientific studies have focused on studying the role of sleep in weight-loss diets. However, a new research investigates the effect of a low-protein weight-loss diet on sleep quality.
Professor of nutrition science Wayne Campbell and his team of researchers at Purdue University in Indiana published their findings in the March edition of American Journal of Nutrition. Along with Campbell, the co-authors of the study are Cheryl Armstrong, Jing Zhou, Jung Eun Kim and Ningning Chen.
According to CTV News, the new study suggests that obese and overweight adults following a high-protein diet for several months can also achieve a better sleep. The research consisted a pilot study and a main study. In the first pilot study, 14 overweight participants were asked by the researchers to follow a high-protein diet based on beef and pork or legume products and soy.
The main study involves 44 overweight or obese volunteers, who are separated into two groups. One group followed a high-protein diet while the other group had a normal intake of protein.
Participants in the study were allowed a three-week period to adapt to the diet. After three weeks, the volunteers consumed for the next 16 weeks 0.8 grams or 1.5 grams of protein a day per kilogram of body mass. Each month, the quality of participants' sleep was evaluated by the researchers by means of a questionnaire.
After three and four months, the scientists found that the volunteers with the highest protein intake reported an improvement in their sleep quality. The results could lead to a regain in popularity of high-protein diets such as Atkins Diet or Dukan Diet.
Jing Zhou, the study's first author, explained that compromised sleep quality and short sleep duration may lead to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and even to premature death. Since sleep problems are so prevalent in our modern society, it becomes important to find the best changes to lifestyle and diet that can help improve sleep.
