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Nutrients
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Sleep and Diet: Exploring Interactive Associations on Human Health—2nd Edition
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Sleep and Diet: Exploring Interactive Associations on Human Health—2nd Edition

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2026 | Viewed by 3966

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Egeria Scoditti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Clinical Physiology (IFC), National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy
Interests: metabolism; nutrition; inflammation; oxidative stress; antioxidant; polyphenols; mediterranean diet; cardiometabolic diseases; atherosclerosis; obesity; type 2 diabetes; cell signaling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Nicola Luigi Bragazzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (LIAM), Department of Mathematics and Statistics, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
Interests: public health; nutrition; nutritional epidemiology; personalized and precision nutrition; chronic disease; artificial intelligence and machine learning/deep learning in nutrition and medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Sergio Garbarino

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics and Maternal/Child Sciences (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy
Interests: neurophysiology of sleep; circadian sleep–wake cycle; sleep health; work and sleep; stress–sleep relationship; sleep-related accidents and injuries; mental health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce our call for papers for the 2nd Edition of the Special Issue on the topic “Sleep and Diet: Exploring Interactive Associations on Human Health”. We invite researchers, clinicians, and scholars to submit original research articles, reviews, and commentaries that address, but are not limited to, the epidemiological, clinical, and mechanistic evidence on the bidirectional links between sleep and diet and their impact on overall health, well-being, as well as tissue/organ (dys)functions. Interventions targeting sleep and diet to improve health outcomes are also welcome.

We look forward to your contributions to this Special Issue, which we believe will significantly advance our understanding of how the interactions between sleep and dietary patterns influence human health.

Dr. Egeria Scoditti
Dr. Nicola Luigi Bragazzi
Dr. Sergio Garbarino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nutrients is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sleep
  • sleep disorders
  • sleep health
  • circadian sleep–wake cycle
  • metabolism
  • diet
  • nutrients
  • nutritional epidemiology
  • personalized and precision nutrition
  • eating disorders
  • health
  • well-being
  • mental health

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 371 KB  
Article
The Role of Peanuts and Tree Nuts in Improving Diet and Sleep Quality: A Pilot Study and Literature Review
by Alyssa Tindall and Mihaela C. Kissell
Nutrients 2026, 18(4), 579; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18040579 - 10 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1203
Abstract
Background: Peanuts and tree nuts are nutrient-dense foods associated with improved diet quality and reduced chronic disease risk. Diet quality and sleep are interrelated, but the relationship between nut consumption and sleep quality remains understudied, particularly among young adults. Objective: This [...] Read more.
Background: Peanuts and tree nuts are nutrient-dense foods associated with improved diet quality and reduced chronic disease risk. Diet quality and sleep are interrelated, but the relationship between nut consumption and sleep quality remains understudied, particularly among young adults. Objective: This study examined peanut and tree nut consumption, diet quality, and sleep quality in undergraduate students. Existing clinical trials on nut intake and sleep outcomes in healthy adults were reviewed. Methods: A pilot study recruited 46 undergraduates to complete three 24 h dietary recalls and self-report sleep quality. Recall days were categorized as containing nuts or no nuts. Diet quality was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index-2020 (HEI). A literature search of PubMed identified human clinical trials testing nut intake with sleep-related outcomes. Results: Sixteen percent of the 139 recall days contained nuts. Mean HEI scores were greater on days that contained nuts (64.9 ± 2.3) versus nut-free days (45.4 ± 1.1; p < 0.0001). Scores for total fruit, whole fruit, total protein, sea and plant protein, sodium, and refined grains were greater on nut-containing days (p < 0.05 for all). Participants reported better sleep on days following nut consumption (p = 0.04). From the literature search, four randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified with results varying by nut type, dosage, timing, and participants. Conclusions: The positive association observed in this pilot study between nut intake and improved diet quality, along with a modest link to better sleep quality, suggests that incorporating nuts regularly into the diet may help enhance overall dietary habits and contribute to improved sleep. The present trials suggest nut intake may improve sleep quality, but significant heterogeneity highlights the need for RCTs with objective sleep outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep and Diet: Exploring Interactive Associations on Human Health—2nd Edition)
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15 pages, 875 KB  
Article
Heat-Treated Limosilactobacillus fermentum PS150 Improves Sleep Quality with Severity-Dependent Benefits: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial
by Mon-Chien Lee, Chao-Yuan Chen, Ching-Yun Chen and Chi-Chang Huang
Nutrients 2026, 18(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu18010014 - 19 Dec 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2400
Abstract
Background: Insomnia is prevalent and difficult to treat safely over the long term. Given the role of the microbiota–gut–brain axis in melatonin and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) regulation, and preclinical evidence for Limosilactobacillus fermentum PS150, we evaluated whether a heat-treated formulation (HT-PS150) could improve [...] Read more.
Background: Insomnia is prevalent and difficult to treat safely over the long term. Given the role of the microbiota–gut–brain axis in melatonin and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) regulation, and preclinical evidence for Limosilactobacillus fermentum PS150, we evaluated whether a heat-treated formulation (HT-PS150) could improve sleep and modulate endocrine/circadian markers in adults with poor sleep. Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 84 adults aged 20–60 years with PSQI ≥ 5 and ISI < 22 were assigned to receive either placebo or HT-PS150 for eight weeks. Outcomes included patient-reported sleep (PSQI, ISI), anxiety/depression (GAD-7, PHQ-9), quality of life (QLESQ-SF), gastrointestinal symptoms (VAS-GI), wrist actigraphy (Fitbit Inspire 3), and sleep-relevant biomarkers measured from urine, saliva, and/or blood samples (melatonin, cortisol, orexin, serotonin, GABA, and/or norepinephrine). Repeated measures were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. An exploratory proportional regulation analysis classified individual biomarker changes as up- or down-regulated and compared proportions between study arms. Per-protocol analyses required ≥80% compliance. Results: Improvements in the primary outcomes, PSQI and ISI, were observed over time in both groups, while no significant group × time interactions were detected. In exploratory proportional analyses, a higher proportion of participants in the HT-PS150 group exhibited up-regulated nocturnal melatonin secretion and improved daytime plasma orexin levels, as well as a tendency toward greater reductions in nocturnal salivary cortisol compared with placebo. In subgroup analyses with higher baseline insomnia severity (ISI ≥ 8), HT-PS150 was associated with greater improvements in PSQI (notably sleep duration and efficiency) and reduction in anxiety (GAD-7) upon post hoc testing. Conclusions: Although group mean scores on sleep symptom scales did not differ significantly in the full cohort, HT-PS150 appeared to modulate sleep–wake regulation by enhancing nocturnal melatonin secretion, attenuating HPA-axis activity, and stabilizing wakefulness. Clinical benefits were most evident among participants with greater baseline symptom burden, suggesting potential utility in more symptomatic populations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sleep and Diet: Exploring Interactive Associations on Human Health—2nd Edition)
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