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Nutrients
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Diet, Physical Activity and Exercise and Sleep Quality
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Diet, Physical Activity and Exercise and Sleep Quality

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutritional Epidemiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 November 2025 | Viewed by 1210

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Elena Gangitano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Departmental Faculty of Medicine, Saint Camillus International University of Health and Medical Sciences, Rome, Italy
2. Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Interests: obesity; metabolic diseases; endocrinology; diabetes; nutrition; ketogenic diet; sleep
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Eleonora Poggiogalle

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
Interests: nutrition; diet; metabolism; obesity; insulin resistance; body composition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue, titled “Diet, Physical Activity and Exercise and Sleep Quality”, is aimed at clarifying the interactions between diet, physical activity and exercise and sleep as key factors in the metabolic health of the individuals.

The prevalence of obesity and metabolic diseases is dramatically increasing worldwide. The causes of this trend are many and complex, such as food amount and food quality. Moreover, sleep is a physiological process, essential for life, with a significant impact on physical and mental health. In industrialized countries, there is a clear trend of a reduction in the time dedicated to sleep.

Both sleep amount and sleep quality have been put in relation to the onset of metabolic derangements, and on the other hand, weight excess is associated with the development of sleep disorders. Physical activity and exercise have a well-known impact on metabolism, and may influence sleep quality, and conversely, bad-quality sleep can influence physical performance. These mutual effects put diet, physical activity and exercise, sleep and metabolic diseases in a stringent relationship.

Papers aimed at exploring the molecular basis of this interaction and clinical studies on this topic are welcome in this Special Issue.

Dr. Elena Gangitano
Dr. Eleonora Poggiogalle
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

  • diet
  • sleep
  • physical activity
  • exercise
  • nutrition
  • macronutrients
  • sleep quality
  • obesity
  • metabolism

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 485 KB  
Article
Mediterranean Diet, Sleep Quality, Perceived Stress, and Physical Activity: A Pilot Study Among School Teachers
by Marta Esgalhado, António Raposo, Najla A. Albaridi, Thamer Alslamah, Nada Alqarawi and Leandro Oliveira
Nutrients 2025, 17(17), 2745; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17172745 - 25 Aug 2025
Viewed by 856
Abstract
Background: Lifestyle behaviours, such as dietary patterns, sleep quality, perceived stress, and physical activity, are closely interconnected and play a critical role in maintaining health and well-being. Among school teachers, a profession marked by high psychosocial demands, the interplay between these factors warrants [...] Read more.
Background: Lifestyle behaviours, such as dietary patterns, sleep quality, perceived stress, and physical activity, are closely interconnected and play a critical role in maintaining health and well-being. Among school teachers, a profession marked by high psychosocial demands, the interplay between these factors warrants further exploration. Objective: This pilot study aimed to explore the associations between adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD), sleep quality, perceived stress, and physical activity levels among Portuguese primary and secondary school teachers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted between April and December 2023. Participants completed validated self-reported instruments, including the MD Adherence Screener (MEDAS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF). Correlational analyses and multivariable linear regression models were applied to explore the relationships among the variables. Results: Among the 50 teachers, 32% demonstrated high adherence to the MD, 60% reported good sleep quality, 62% experienced moderate stress, and 44% engaged in high physical activity. Women were more likely to adhere strongly to the MD (p = 0.012). Higher MD adherence was positively associated with physical activity (ρ = 0.343; p = 0.015). A positive correlation was observed between perceived stress and poorer sleep quality (ρ = 0.346, p = 0.014), and a negative correlation between perceived stress and physical activity levels (ρ = −0.297, p = 0.036). Despite reporting good sleep quality, these participants had higher perceived stress scores (p = 0.015). In adjusted models, sleep quality was the only significant predictor of perceived stress (B = 0.708; p = 0.003), and vice versa (B = 0.267; p = 0.003), suggesting a bidirectional relationship. Conclusions: The findings highlight the interrelation between dietary pattern, sleep stress, and physical activity in a professional group vulnerable to lifestyle-related health challenges. Although the sample size limits generalisability, this study provides preliminary evidence supporting the need for integrated health promotion strategies targeting stress reduction and lifestyle optimisation among educators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diet, Physical Activity and Exercise and Sleep Quality)
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