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New Delhi: For generations, families have sworn by their own bedtime rituals — a mug of warm Horlicks, a plate of turkey leftovers, or even a small glass of whisky to help drift off. But new research from the United States suggests the secret to better sleep might be sitting quietly in your fruit bowl.
Scientists from the University of Chicago and Columbia University say that eating around five cups of fruits and vegetables during the day could significantly improve the quality of your sleep that night. Their findings, published in the journal Sleep Health, suggest that the food choices we make from breakfast to dinner can have an immediate impact on how deeply and peacefully we sleep.
“Dietary modifications could be a natural and cost-effective way to achieve better sleep,” said Dr. Esra Tasali, director of the University of Chicago Sleep Center and one of the study’s authors.
The idea that sleep and diet are connected isn’t entirely new. We already know that poor sleep can trigger cravings for sugary or high-fat foods — a vicious cycle that increases the risk of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. But until now, scientists have understood far less about how diet influences sleep itself. This new study flips that question on its head and finds a clear link between what you eat and how well you rest.
Researchers asked healthy young adults to track their food intake over several days. Participants also wore wrist devices to monitor their sleep patterns, focusing particularly on “sleep fragmentation” — how often they woke up or moved between light and deep sleep phases. The results were striking.
People who consumed more fruits and vegetables during the day experienced more stable, uninterrupted sleep at night. Their bodies appeared to spend more time in deeper, restorative stages of rest. Even those who added just a few extra servings noticed improvements within 24 hours. According to the data, eating five cups of fruits and vegetables daily led to about a 16 percent boost in sleep quality compared to those who ate little to none.
“That’s a highly significant difference,” Dr. Tasali noted. “It’s remarkable that such an immediate change can come simply from what’s on your plate.”
Co-author Marie-Pierre St-Onge from Columbia University added that these small dietary shifts can be empowering. “People often ask what they can eat to sleep better,” she said. “Now we can say that even modest improvements in diet can have real effects.”
The findings also echo the NHS’s well-known “five-a-day” guidance, though this time the benefits go beyond general health — they might just help you sleep more soundly too.
Of course, sleep issues like insomnia often have multiple causes — from stress and anxiety to caffeine, irregular schedules, or too much screen time. Experts still recommend sticking to good sleep hygiene: going to bed at the same time each night, keeping the room dark and cool, limiting caffeine after mid-afternoon, and winding down without screens before bed. But if you’ve tried all that and still toss and turn, it may be worth looking at your dinner plate. A few more apples, leafy greens, or a colourful salad might do more for your sleep than any nightcap ever could.
