Almost everyone has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep from time to time.

Medications we take, stress from the day, pain, bathroom trips, too much screen time, daytime napping and irregular sleep habits can add up to sleepless nights.

Chronic insomnia, where sleep is elusive night after night can be maddening. But a solution may be within reach — one that doesn’t require a prescription or come with side effects…

Researchers are onto a strong connection between chronic insomnia and a particular “food group.” If they make up a large part of your diet, getting the valuable sleep you need may be as easy as giving them up…

The rise of fake food

Within the last decade, the proliferation of “fake food” has gotten so out of hand that the United Nations began applying the NOVA system of food classification to keep it all straight.

The NOVA system separates foods into four classifications: unprocessed or minimally processed, culinary ingredients (like olive oil), and two more: processed and ultra-processed foods.

Processed foods, by definition, are any “raw agricultural commodities that have been washed, cleaned, milled, cut, chopped, heated, pasteurized, blanched, cooked, canned, frozen, dried, dehydrated, mixed or packaged” — like a can of vegetables.

But ultra-processed foods are products that have gone through so much processing that they no longer bear much resemblance to real food. If you read the labels on these foods, you’ll see multiple unrecognizable ingredients.

Things like chicken nuggets, frozen pizza, microwaveable meals, and chips… even some cereals and packaged baked goods fall into this category.

Ultra-processed foods have been linked to a host of health conditions including dementia, depression and anxiety, and hypertension, bowel disease and a range of cancers.

And evidence says they’re stealing our sleep too…

Ultra-processed foods’ connection to chronic insomnia

A group of French and American researchers recently looked at the possible connection between chronic insomnia and the consumption of ultra-processed foods.

“At a time when more and more foods are highly processed and sleep disturbances are rampant, it is important to evaluate whether diet could contribute to adverse or good quality sleep,” says Marie-Pierre St-Onge, a nutrition and sleep scientist at Columbia University.

St-Onge and her colleagues looked at data collected on 38,570 adults as part of the NutriNet Health Study, a study that focused on connections between nutrition and disease.

While St. Onge and her colleagues did not establish a causal relationship between ultra-processed foods and insomnia, they did find a statistically significant association between higher consumption of ultra-processed foods and increased chronic insomnia risk.

It’s important to point out that this is not the first time these foods have been associated with stealing sleep…

A Columbia University study demonstrated that postmenopausal women who ate the most refined carbohydrates — particularly added sugars — were 16 percent more likely to develop insomnia than those who ate the least. And if any food “group” contains a bevy of refined carbs and added sugars, it’s the ultra-processed one.

By the way, that same study found women who ate more vegetables, fiber and whole fruit (not juice) were about 14 percent less likely to lie awake at night.

Beat insomnia the easy way

If you’re having trouble sleeping, it’s clear that sticking to “real” food could help eliminate one thing that’s likely to be causing it.

But of course, kicking the ultra-processed food habit is not easy. So start slow if you can’t go cold turkey, by ditching the two foods a 30-year study found to be the worst ones you could eat.

Then start adding in more of the good stuff. If eating fresh fruits and vegetables seems difficult at first, consider green powder mixes. They mix with water and many also contain fruit and fiber.

Steer clear of sleeping pills if you can. They come with some nasty side effects and aren’t guaranteed to work for everyone.

Instead, try the bedtime routine of a toddler and these other sleep-inducing tips.

Sources:

Chronic Insomnia Linked to Ultra-Processed Foods, Study Finds — Science Alert

The association between ultra-processed food consumption and chronic insomnia in the NutriNet-Santé Study — Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

One in four Americans develop insomnia each year: 75 percent of those with insomnia recover — Science Daily

Mediterranean diet pattern and sleep duration and insomnia symptoms in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis — Sleep