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Updated: Nov 2, 2025

Multi-Modal Home Sleep Monitoring in Older Adults
Published on: January 26, 2019
The Relationship Between Diet and Sleep in Older Adults: a Narrative Review
Charlotte C Gupta1, Christopher Irwin2, Grace E Vincent3
1Appleton Institute, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University Adelaide, 44 Greenhill Rd, Wayville, SA, 5034, Australia. c.gupta@cqu.edu.au.
Purpose Of Review:
Older adults more frequently experience reduced sleep quality and quantity compared to younger adults. Diet is one modifiable lifestyle factor that may influence sleep outcomes in older adults. The purpose of this review is to synthesise the current literature investigating the impact of diet, including foods and nutrients, on the sleep quality and quantity of older adults.
Recent Findings:
Overall, the observational and intervention studies suggest that following a Mediterranean diet, and the consumption of certain food items (e.g. milk), and nutrients (e.g. vitamin D and vitamin E) may influence (improve or reduce) sleep quality and quantity. This review describes the potential efficacy for dietary factors to improve sleep outcomes in older adults. However, given the heterogeneity of included studies in this review (i.e. aims, methodologies, and outcomes assessed), it is difficult to consolidate the available evidence to make specific recommendations. More targeted research exploring the relationship between diet and sleep in older adults is needed to strengthen the current evidence base.
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