A randomized trial of a non-pharmacological dietary intervention on subjective and polysomnography-measured sleep quality

There are limited well-designed studies on food-based interventions for improving sleep quality. Almonds are rich in bioactive phytochemicals, magnesium, zinc and melatonin, all of which are known to promote sleep <bold>Aim:</bold> To study the effect of almond consumption in adults on sleep quality <bold>Methods:</bold> Community-based participants were screened using self-administered Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth sleepiness scale(ESS). Those with PSQI ≥ 5 and ESS ≥ 10 were enrolled in the 20-week trial and randomized to intervention group (receiving 60gm almonds/day) or control (isocaloric snack). Overnight polysomnography test, PSQI and ESS were conducted at baseline and at 20 weeks. The data was analysed using STATA ver15 <bold>Results:</bold> 64 subjects have completed the study. Mean age of the participants was 45.3 (SD 8) years. Baseline PSQI and ESS scores, sleep efficiency (SE), sleep latency and wake after sleep onset (WASO) were similar (Table 1). In the intervention group, the mean PSQI at baseline was 7.14 (SD 3.2) which statistically significantly decreased to 5.00 (SD 2.10). Similar changes were also noted in the ESS, sleep efficiency and WASO. These changes were superior to those in the control group (Table 2) <bold>Conclusion:</bold> Addition of almonds in the diet had a beneficial impact on subjective and objective sleep quality as compared to a control intervention in individuals with a poor sleep quality <fig><object-id>erj;64/suppl_68/PA859/F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><object-id>F1</object-id><graphic></graphic></fig>