Purpose: Poor sleep quality has been reported to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, as well as mental disorders including depression and anxiety. However, few studies have investigated the association between sleep quality and diet in young males. We aimed to assess this association, adjusting for psychological factors.
Methods: In this study, a total of 124 male Japanese students were analyzed. Sleep quality, diet, and psychological symptoms were assessed using self-reported questionnaires, including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire (BDHQ), 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ12), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) A-Trait scale.
Results: Among participants, 40% exhibited a PSQI total score ≥ 6, indicating poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality was associated with poor mental health status and higher levels of anxiety. After adjusting for covariates including these psychological factors, poor sleep quality was significantly associated with low intakes of fat, beta-carotene, retinol, alpha-tocopherol, vitamin K, vitamin B1, daidzein, genistein, and iron. Poor sleep quality was also associated with low intake of pulses, fat and oil, as well as high intakes of sugar-sweetened beverages.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that sleep quality among young Japanese males was associated with specific dietary features, independently of psychological status, which may help to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the link between sleep and sleep-related diseases.
Keywords: Diet; Mental health; Sleep quality; Young Japanese males.