Middle-aged adults who are overweight and obese but trying to shed pounds and burn fat are more likely to sleep well if they maintain a high-protein diet, based on a new study. This research differed from most studies that find out how sleep affects weight control and diet, but instead examined the relationship between the amount of protein people eat and their sleep quality.
The study was conducted by Purdue University and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Dr. Wayne Campbell is a professor of nutrition science at Perdue University. He explained that the study was the antithesis of most studies as it studied the effects of diet on sleep instead of how shut-eye affects people's food intake.
Campbell shared that middle-aged adults who ate fewer calories yet consumed more protein slept better than adults who ate a normal amount of protein. This was based on the findings of two studies.
In the first study 14 study subjects who maintained a high-protein diet slept better during the 4-week weight loss period. However, in the main study that included 44 overweight and obese volunteers, the 16-week period included both normal and high-protein weight loss diets, according to Tech Times.
Study participants consumed 0.8 kilograms (1.76 pounds) or 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds) of protein for every one kilogram of body weight. Volunteers were required to rate their quality of sleep each month.
The study's findings show that a high-protein weight loss program improved the participants' quality of sleep. This diet included beef, pork, beans, and milk and soy protein.
Researchers also studied factors such as protein quality. Campbell shared that his research team's study was the first to take up the question of how diet patterns affect how well people sleep.
In related news another recent study shows that sleep deprivation can cause obesity and other health issues, according to The New York Times. The study published this month in the journal SLEEP found that lack of sleep caused food cravings like the "munchies" caused by marijuana use.
Researchers learned that the receptors affected by cannabis were closely connected to food cravings that result from not getting enough sleep.
Here are cheap ways to add protein to your diet: