This article looks at the effects of kiwifruit consumption on sleep duration and quality
What’s the deal?
Alongside being delicious, kiwifruit contains a number of ingredients with potential health benefits, but can it improve sleep quality in people who struggle to get good sleep?
What did they do?
24 participants had their usual sleep quality assessed by wearing a movement/sleep monitor for 3 days. They also kept a sleep diary and completed a sleep quality questionnaire. Volunteers were then asked to eat 2 kiwifruit every day, 1-hour before going to bed. After 4 weeks, participants had their sleep quality assessed again for 3 days and answered the sleep questionnaire.
What happened?
After eating kiwifruit before bed for 4 weeks, participants fell asleep faster, woke up less during the night and slept for approximately 40-55 minutes longer in total. The questionnaire revealed that participants felt their sleep quality was now significantly better.
What can you tell me about the people?
Participants (2 males, 22 females) were aged 20 to 55 and had a history of self-reported sleep issues. The study was performed in Taiwan, so participants were likely of Chinese ethnicity.
What else should I know?
Kiwifruit is rich in serotonin and folate, two ingredients thought to be related to sleep quality. Further research is needed though.
What will I do differently?
Luckily for me, I generally have no problems sleeping. This will be a good nugget of information to have up my sleeve for if that changes though!
Acknowledgements
This research was published in 2011 by H-H Lin and colleagues from Taipei Medical University, Taiwan.
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