Dietary Supplement Interventions and Sleep Quality Improvement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Area of Science:

• Nutritional Science
• Sleep Medicine
• Public Health

Background:

• Sleep health is crucial for overall well-being, and sleep deprivation is a growing public health issue.
• Dietary interventions, including nutrient supplementation, are recognized as effective strategies to enhance sleep quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically evaluate the efficacy of dietary supplement interventions on sleep quality in individuals with and without sleep disorders.
• To synthesize evidence from randomized controlled trials on the impact of nutritional supplements on various sleep metrics.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across multiple scientific databases (PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, ScienceDirect, Wiley, CVIP).
• Included studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing dietary supplement interventions for sleep improvement.
• Key sleep metrics analyzed included Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), sleep efficiency (SE), sleep latency (SL), total sleep time (TST), wake after sleep onset (WASO), and number of awake after sleep onset (NASO).
• Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 and Stata 17.0.

Main Results:

• The meta-analysis included 28 RCTs, indicating significant improvements in sleep outcomes with dietary interventions.
• Dietary interventions led to a reduction in PSQI scores (MD: -0.70) and shortened SL (SMD: -0.24) and WASO (SMD: -0.30).
• Improvements were also observed in increased SE (+2.58 min) and prolonged TST (SMD: +0.23), with marginal reduction in NASO (MD: -1.57).

Conclusions:

• Specific nutrients such as tryptophan, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, and antioxidants show potential for enhancing sleep quality.
• These supplements appear to improve sleep by reducing sleep latency and wake after sleep onset, while increasing sleep efficiency and total sleep time.