Macronutrient Intake and Sleep: the Influence of High-glycemic-index Meal and the Atkins' Diet on Sleep and Behavioural Responses

10-15% of Americans have long-term sleep difficulties. The common sleep difficulties include sleep initiation and maintenance. The current treatment options for sleep difficulties are pharmacotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy. Both the timing and macronutrient content of meals are known to influence sleep. This book provides a new treatment for sleep initiation difficulty. A carbohydrate-based high-glycemic-index meal resulted in a significant shortening of sleep onset latency in compared to a low-glycemic-index meal, and was most effective when consumed 4 h before bedtime. Also the book demonstrates the effect of short-term consumption of the Atkins' diet on sleep and behavioural responses. A significant increased in slow wave sleep were shown, and the daytime symptoms of fatigue, and depressed mood were significantly increased following the Atkins' diet compared to the control one. This analysis is especially useful to researchers, health professionals, subjects with sleep initiation difficulty, the Atkins' diet followers, or anyone else who may be considering consuming a diet for improving his/her sleep health and practising sleep hygiene.